Saturday morning-7:30 am. Exhausted and sleepless for numerous reasons unknown. I looked outside and it was dark and pouring rain. Looking up at the ceiling from under the covers, I wondered why I had to do this.
Frankly, I think I wasted too much time thinking. Thirty minutes and a few phone calls later, Roshni, Prath and I braved against the rain, wind and Prath’s driving skills to the Post Office Square and joined other Northeastern groups on their way to Cradles and Crayons.
Cradles and crayons is Quincy-based non-profit organization that equips homeless and in-need children with the basic essentials they need to feel safe, warm, ready to learn and valued. Our job was simple but so fun. We had to go through bins of clothes and sort them according to season and size; and the bins were endless. We met and bonded with each other and members of the other organizations on campus. We did the ‘awwww’ when we saw super cute outfits that fit only my hands and we also made an assembly line to make things more efficient. Yes, we were a smart lot.
By 12 p.m. when we got done, it didn’t matter that all our socks and shoes were still wet from the rain. The Cradles and Crayons representative said with all the bags we filled, we had helped almost a 100 kids. It felt good.
For volunteer opportunities check out -
Cradles and Crayons: www.cradlestocrayons.org
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) : www.saalt.org
Hope to see you everyone at the Diwali/Eid Dinner on Tuesday, October 13th @ Cabral Center!
- Ruchi
Co-Cultural Chair
