“Wow. This is a striking number of people,” I thought, before counting off by twos. Two, four….sixteen….thirthy-four….fourty-eight….sixty-eight….(wait, is that three or four people over there. Three, okay)….On no…. Where was I? Well, I am sure, dear reader, that you don’t need an exact number, that you, in fact, would loathe having a completely certain and round figure, because it would prevent you from envisioning that there where hundreds, nay thousands (!!!) of individuals present, all gathered on the grounds of the Center for Community Services, ready with gloves and rakes, hats on and jackets off in the morning sun. We know that’s what kind of people you are - the dreamers and the hopefuls - so we stopped ourselves from doing another precise headcount and let your imaginations run wild.
And, in fact, you may be correct in your flagrant estimations. Thousands were present. Perhaps not physically, in the parking lot and on the grounds of CCS in Greenville, SC, but in the spirit of service across the nation, giving their time and energy in remembrance of Dr. King.
In the shell of an elementary school that was shed by it old inhabitants, Center for Community Services has built a campus of assistance programs, providing better access to healthcare, temporary assistance, parenting activities, child education, and adult education. Although CCS provides a central location where human service agencies can work together to better meet the needs of families, the end goal is to connect families to services that are offered closer in proximity to where they work and live. That being said, the center serviced approximately 9,000 individuals last year.
To commemorate King Day and to celebrate what CCS accomplishes within the community, people gathered and worked. Interiors of the buildings were scrubbed, dusted, disinfected, and polished, floors mopped or vacuumed. Hallways echoing with adult conversation and children’s giggles as they, arguably the smarter of the two groups, turned cleaning into a game. The faster they worked, the sooner they broke free, into the sunlit grounds. Mean while, outside, the landscape was raked, mulched, pine straw’d, and prepped for winter. Benches were painted. Light bulbs were changed out – old for energy efficient new. Conversation and laughter functioned as the constant, but low, background music. And, when we broke for lunch, the campus was clean and beautiful, reminiscent of a tidy school desk on the first day of class, nary a pine straw out of bounds.
Because so many people donated their time, lunch marked our end of day. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, or at the short tables that filled the room, we enjoyed a few slices of pizza and a respite from the sun. The diversity in the room was striking, yet, we all sat with the same evident look of satisfaction, proud of the work that had been done -you could see evidence of it everywhere. And in that moment, we were all equal. Equally tired, equally satisfied, and equally proud to have taken part in the project.
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