Photo Courtesy of UCFSD

A picture of students at Hillendale Elementary preparing donations for MLK Day.

Jocelyn Glembocki ‘27

REPORTER

On January 20, students from the school district’s four elementary schools—Chadds Ford, Hillendale, Pocopson, and Unionville—came together at Hillendale Elementary School to honor Dr. Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr.’s legacy by doing acts of community service. The event was part of the Kindness Matters Campaign, which was designed to promote kindness within the school community through collaborative community-serving activities. The campaign organized community service events for the MLK Day of Service and the Random Acts of Kindness Week, which took place from February 10-14.

At Hillendale, students and other community members engaged in various tasks to help those in need for the Day of Service. Volunteers made duffle bags for Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) youth advocates, snack boxes for Meals on Wheels, bookmarks and cards for Nemours Hospital, and more. By the end of the event, over 850 items had been donated. “I loved being able to go to this event on my day off, knowing I [was] volunteering and [giving] back to the community,” said sophomore Nicoletta “Nellie” Ciliberti.

The Day of Service began last year with only Hillendale and Pocopson. This year, it expanded to include all four of the elementary schools. “For the first time, all four elementary school PTOs collaborated to create the program, and the turnout and end product were terrific,” said Hillendale Elementary’s Principal, Joshua Leight. “The highlight of this event was giving children the opportunity to participate in hands-on service benefiting the local community.”

The idea for this day originated from Chelsea Wirth and Kamilie Fox, two Hillendale parents and members of the District’s Kindness Committee. Being a mother of three, Wirth has participated in many service events at Hillendale over the past several years. The district community hopes this Day of Service will continue as an annual tradition, inspiring and honoring Dr. King’s legacy.