Success in Orlando!

October 2nd, 2010

After postponing the homeless distribution with the fifth grade students of Castle Creek Elementary, I was finally given approval to complete my project on Friday, October 1st, 2010 with the students making the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  The process was actually very fast, which was completely unexpected.  We had a total of eleven fifth graders packing all the donations in about 30 minutes.  I divided the students up by stations; some put the peanut butter and jelly on the bread, some packed the sandwiches in bags, and the last couple of students stored the sandwiches in the lunch bags, along with chips and a juice.  I was very excited to know that we prepared 45 lunch bags for the homeless.  After their hard work, we played soccer and tennis to relax before our distribution the next day.

On Saturday, October 2nd, selected students, some parents, some volunteers, and I went to Downtown Orlando's Lake Eola Park with all of our donations.  As mentioned in a previous post, this park has a lot of homeless people with very interesting stories.  I understand that there are places with more homeless people, but I believe this park was a perfect environment for the children.  We handed out clothes that has been donated to the Beyond the Wall Campaign, as well as the lunch bags that were prepared by the children of Extended Day at Castle Creek Elementary School.  The children also had an opportunity to speak to the homeless, which was very important.  They met people with mental illness, veterans, and some that have been affected by the recession.  An interesting (and sad) event was when they saw a homeless man being kicked out of the park by the Orlando Police Department for sleeping on the grass.  They met a woman that admitted she slept below a 408 expressway bridge.  They also met a homeless man that was so religious, that he even prayed with the children.  After the social work was completed, the children had an opportunity to play at the playground, which they really enjoyed.  We ended the morning by having pizza at the park. 

The event was a complete success!  The students really enjoyed their morning at the park, they learned about the homeless, and they made a difference.  I am very proud that I was able to direct this project with the kids, and that the alliance that the Beyond the Wall Campaign has with Castle Creek Elementary School is working out well.  I want to thank the staff of Castle Creek Elementary School, the students that participated in this project, the parents that allowed their children to help out, and of course, everyone that has followed this campaign.