January 15, 2018—Throngs of Shaker students, families, faculty and staff packed the upper and lower cafeterias at Shaker Heights High School on Monday to help Northeast Ohio’s homeless during the 2018 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.
The PTO CommUnity Builders organized the event, which engaged community members of all ages in making sleeping mats for the homeless, personal hygiene kits, no-sew fleece blankets, talking sticks and more. Also, participants at the Day of Service could stop in the High School auditorium to watch Prester Pickett, Coordinator of the Howard A. Mims African-American Cultural Center at Cleveland State University, and three Moreland residents perform Dr. King’s "I Have A Dream” and “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop" speeches.
“It’s wonderful to see so many members of the community coming together to build community and to help the homeless,” said Susan Vodrey, the High School event chair for the PTO CommUnity Builders. “The enthusiasm of the community in donating the plastic bags to weave the mats was wonderful.”
Event organizers encouraged participants throughout the morning with words from speakers who work with Northeast Ohio’s homeless community, including Karen McHenry, director of the Homeless and Missing Youth Program at Bellefaire JCB and Chris Knestrick, director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. Ms. McHenry told attendees that there are currently 158 missing teens in Cuyahoga County and that 99 of them are girls under the age of 18. “Events like this show that people do care,” she said. Mr. Knestrick added that all the area shelters are full, including the County’s family overflow shelter. “The mats you’re making will help folks who don’t have a place to stay so that at least they have a dry mat to sleep on,” he said. “Building community is how we help community. The fact that so many community members and youth come to this event on their day off is a beautiful thing.”
Me’laini Joseph, who helped organize the first MLK Day of Service, returned this year to help cut the plastic bags used to make the sleeping mats. “This builds camaraderie among the students and it’s a good family event,” she said.
Shaker parent Peter Bennett constructed six sleeping mat weaving looms specifically for the Day of Service. His wife and event organizer Kate Bennett, says the looms can be lent to other community groups who want host similar events. Already, and a few local churches and schools have expressed interest in borrowing them.
Junior Alice Markey left the day feeling inspired. “Weaving these mats is a lot more beneficial for a day of service because more people can be involved and they can be involved for a longer time,” she said. “And the speakers from Bellefaire and the Homeless Coalition really made me to want to help tackle some of the issues that the homeless face.”
Board of Education president Jeff Isaacs was awed by the turnout and grateful for all the work of the PTO CommUnity Builders in organizing the event. “There are so many people here taking action and they’re engaged in something that will impact our community,” he said. “This event embodies Dr. King’s vision and the IB-inspired approach we take to educating all of our students here at the District.”