Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Something from Nothing

To my friends who were recognized at the ALA Awards yesterday: I've sent you emails. You *know* how I feel about you and your work and how richly you deserve the cascade of love and attention pouring over you now. 


For my other writer/illustrator friends who pursue their creative work despite no public acclaim, I'm just as ecstatically proud of you. Your lives, your words, your art . . . it's always a choice to believe in and actively participate in making a Something from the looming chaos of Nothing. And I love you for making that choice each day.


Yesterday was also Martin Luther King Day, a day of service.  My husband and I were last-minute volunteers at a local project hosted by our community college in Northern Virginia. I want to share pictures so you'll see another way Something comes from Nothing. 




The Nothing: kids in Iraq and Afghanistan, whose classroom are often bare of essential supplies







The Something: folders, pencils, notebook paper, erasers, pencil sharpeners, rulers, pencil bags, scissors, colored pencils, composition books (all donated) 






And the missing link: the people who gathered and bagged the supplies to send to Operation International Child, which ships them overseas to . . . 









. . . be distributed by American troops to children. 



If you work with kids or need a fool-proof service project, I highly recommend Operation International Children.  You can view their "report card" here.

13 comments:

  1. Loveliness, Sara. Thanks for everything you do to make the world a better, smaller place...

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  2. Oh, thank you. Blessed refocus - on someone else other than the ubiquitous "me."

    And I want to bite that little girl's cheeks. TOO cute, with her little hijab.

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  3. Sara,

    It sounds like a wonderful project. With all the bad news we hear, it's often easy to forget about all the good people in our world who volunteer their time and their services to make life better for those in need.

    P.S. I'm sending along a belated Happy New Year!

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  4. Thank you, thank you for highlighting Operation International Children! The amazing things that have been accomplished are all thanks to those who believe in this cause and support it.

    Liz Wegman
    People to People International
    (Operation International Children)

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  5. What a great program. Nice to hear about good things happening in the world. Yay for volunteers like you!

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  6. How wonderful. I love seeing people come together like this.
    Winged Writer

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  7. Oh how I love that first photo of the children.

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  8. Didn't realize you were in Northern Virginia. I used to teach at Robert Frost in Fairfax. Wonder if we ever ran into each other at any Mid-Atlantic SCBWI meetings?

    I have to share my agent-mate's exciting news: she won the Coretta Scott King New Talent Award for THE ROCK AND THE RIVER. Go, Kekla!

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  9. Caroline, we might have met---those conferences are so jam-packed, though, that they all blur together in my mind.

    The Rock and the River is on my TBR list!

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  10. Great pictures to accompany this post, too!!

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  11. I've been wanting to have the Library Club kids do some kind of service project. This might be just the thing--thanks!

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  12. If anyone or group in the Northern Virginia area is interested in getting involved with Operation International Children, we would be happy to help you with your school kit drive. Please see our website
    www.shortcuthigh.com.
    Thanks Pam

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