Day 96: Paralyzed Veterans of America

Hello, it is Sophia!

  In the mail a while ago, I received and envelope from the Paralyzed Veterans of America containing a gift of  return address labels with my name on them. As I was cleaning out my desk the other day, I found the return address labels and thought, Oh! something new for the blog!! The organization was looking for $3.   So today, as my service challenge, I used my own money (but Mom wrote a check for me) and I learned more about this organization.
           The Paralyzed Veterans of America(www.pva.org), for more than 60 years has helped its members suffering from spinal cord injuries lead normal, productive lives. In other words, their main goal is getting veterans up on their feet again and working. The donations are to used to provide services to paralyzed veterans and to sponsor research into spinal cord injuries. At the organization, they have rehabilitation counselors that help seriously wounded soldiers get their life back even if they have disabilities. They feel that all veterans should have the opportunity to live the American Dream.
      When sending the check in, I of course used one of the return address labels they gave me!!

 

 

Day 97: St. Vincent de Paul contribution

This past weekend, Sophia and I noticed a St. Vincent de Paul donation bin in the parking lot of St. Theresa's Church.  We both laughed because we agreed to never having noticed it before, which we decided is testimony to how "once you start a service blog, you start noticing all things related to donations and service!"  So today, Olivia and I delivered a large Hefty bag (I hate to call it a "trash" bag") of household items that we felt would be useful in one of the many deserving communities that benefit from this charitable organization.  And I'm happy to say that I could barely get my bag in the bin    as it was overflowing with donations!!

Patricia

Day 96: The Elderly helping the Elderly

First, how fortunate I am to be able to!!!!! Just in from helping a neighbor with the purchase of a outside grill. The decision to purchase one had been in the thinking mode (procrastination) for a good two and a half years and finally the decision made last week. So off we went to Cosco for the purchase yesterday and after much thought on which box to take, due to apparent box damage, the selection was made -- AMEN!!!! Then the purchase of the propane gas tank, which had a pricing of $19+ dollars per her observation. Oh yes, I lay back a bit on the decision making!!!! At checkout,  it showed up as $28 + dollars. On verification at the customer desk, it was the bag of charcoal, staged in the same area, that was the cheaper price. Oh yes, patience I have pretty much learned!!!!!! First, of course it was Cosco, and my neighbor works there, but she didn't have the right pocketbook with her membership card in it. So I waited outside the security area, figured I would be shot by the Folks manning the security check stations at any moment, while she acquired a temporary card or whatever!!!! So after check out we were off. That was yesterday and this afternoon and two hours later, I assembled the remaining parts and checked out the grill. All went well. There was a double "AA" battery that I couldn't seem to figure out where its' placement was required, but when the ignitor didn't work, further investigation of the physical grill revealed the need for the battery. We are such a Lucky Country!!! So after a couple sociable glasses of red wine with her husband,  the Bride was at work and I was off for home. Love to All and have a good appreciative LIFE -- Buppa

Day 95: Donating Plasma

Paul here.  If you remember, way back in April I donated blood, and blogged fondly of all the crackers and juice you could want.  I was notified I could give again and thought it was a great idea to give  I usually don't have a problem finding a vein, and doing something for others always feels great.  Today when I arrived, they asked if I would mind giving plasma instead of blood.  They need both, but they ask a random number of doners to give plasma and I figured, why not?  They take your blood, filter out the plasma, and put everything else back in.  Presumably it is less invasive, and you can give more often.  However, the technician who poked me did not do a very good job, and it never felt right.  They took about 1 pint, filtered it, but my arm hurt when the machine starting putting it back in me.  They fiddled around a bit with the needle (a couple of times), but still could not get the stuff back in without pain.  It sounds bad, but very quickly they determined we should abandon the procedure, so it really was not a big deal.
Plasma is used for countless medical procedures, from cancer and burn treatment, to research and many other uses.  In fact, it is so valuable there developed a kind of "market" where drug companies pay handsomely for it, and generate huge profits from donated plasma.  Based on the research I did quickly, it is mostly private companies who collect plasma for profit.  In those cases, you have to be very careful since there is not much in terms of regulation and oversight for these facilities.  I like to think the Red Cross's efforts to collect plasma is legitimate and honorable, but maybe I am being naive (?).  In any case, I think I'll stick with donating blood next time.  Maybe around Day 150 or so my vein will be healed.

Day 94: Volunteering at the North Shore Cancer Walk

Hello All.

We are so fortunate to have a guest blogger today, Miss Meaghan Bettano, the wonderful daughter of this service blog's inspiration....our beloved Marie. Congrats on a job well done to Meaghan and Mary!

 

Today, Mary and I volunteered to help out at the North Shore Cancer walk. It was great to see that so many people wanted to help. There were plenty of teams, volunteers, walkers, runners and even a few pets!  We were able to help walkers and runners find buses that get them to the start of the walk. We helped others find their way to their sponsors and registration tables. After the walk we picked everyone up and brought them back to the parking lot. We made sure to say thank you to all those who participated today. Everyone did a wonderful job and really worked hard! This disease has taken the lives of so many, including my own mother but, I know that we will one day find a cure and beat cancer!

 http://www.nsmcgiving.partners.org/

Day 93: One Sight Glasses Donation

Hi! It's Olivia here.

Today I had my annual eye appointment for my contacts, and I decided to get new glasses! I have had my old pair for too many years, and they weren't even the correct prescription anymore. Lenscrafters is a part of the "One Sight-Giving the gift of sight" organization (http://www.onesight.org/na/), which allows people to donate money, or even old glasses, for people who cannot afford them. Having most of my family members own glasses, I chose to donate 4 of our old pairs of glasses to the program. I know what it's like to not be able to see clearly without glasses/contacts, so I'm glad I am able to help people clear their vision!

Day 92: Farewell Pine Hill School

Today, Friday, June 24, 2011, was Sophia's last day of elementary school at Pine Hill. This morning marked the end of one of my favorite routines.....watching Sophia climb aboard Debbie's Bus, find her seat by the window and then throw me a beautiful smile while she lovingly waves her little hand goodbye to me until the bus pulls out of sight. Somehow, I don't see this treasured ritual continuing through Middle School!

So the past week "last week of school week" was spent the same way it has been for the last six years.....baking and preparing appreciation gifts/notes for a group of wonderful Classroom Teachers, Specialists, Bus Drivers and Front Office Ladies who have made this educational journey a successful ride for Sophia. Today was the final delivery day. Although we are ALL ready for Sophia to start Middle School, we will surely miss the friendship and guidance of the terrific Pine Hill faculty. And I am told that they will miss the Cutler's baking!!

Patricia

Day 91: Supper for Bristol Lodge

Today is the 4th Thursday of the month and St. Jude's Day to feed the poor/homeless. Since my friend( and the chair of the committee) Ruth is ill, I played her role and Buppa took my part. I have been on and off the phone with some people who can or can't cook for a couple of days. Had it all organized and come ten to four, some ladies started to drop off their food. At the same time, it began to rain------about 9 months a year, it rains or snows or is 90 degrees on the 4th Thursday and today was no different! We started off to pick up and the first stop forgot and the 2nd stop wasn't home. The next two had their stuff and were waitng for us. Arrived at the church and got a few of the "clientle" to help carry the stuff inside. There are 2 new fellows in charge and they were happy to see us. We needed to set up the food and the people who usually do this hadn't arrived, so Dad was in charge of slicing the meat loaf and I was organizing the rest. Three young high schoolers from the parish and 1 of the parents came at 5:00 and they said they would serve--one potatoes , 1 on vegetables and 1 on bread and milk . The parent said she would help the kids with cleanup, so we were all set. Seemed most everyone sent bananas for dessert but they were gone in a minute---they seem to love bananas!! One person didn't have time to cook so went to Chateau and brought Chicken Parmigian, sauce, bread and salad for about 4 persons. We saved it til the end so they wouldn't be fighting over it. It worked out well.
We were back home by 5:30 with another job well done and about 60 people well nourished thanks to the volunteers from St. Jude's Parish.

Day 90: Volunteer at Pine Hill Field Day

It wasn't supposed to rain today!!
The 4th and 5th graders at Pine Hill were scheduled to have their annual Field Day, a fun afternoon of field games and friendship....all good stuff, all so much better than school work!!
About 25 parents volunteered to set up the field, and then oversee the activities. I was placed as " jail watcher" in a game of Capture The Flag. But unfortunately, my warden skills were never tested. For about a half hour, we waited for the rain to let up, hoping that about #200 happy kids would soon come charging down to the field. But unfortunately, it became clear that the weather would not compromise and the principal needed to make a very unpopular decision. Field Day 2011 was cancelled. The volunteers gathered all the equipment and all that was left was a picture of a very lonely field on a very rainy day.
Patricia

Day 89: Box Tops for Education

Hey, it is Sophia here. I only have three more days of Pine Hill School!!  So today, I put in 22 box tops into the donation box at my school. (Box tops are 10 cent coupons that are found on grocery items. All the coupons go to the organization and then they send the school the amount of money raised.) Nana gave me most of the box tops when I saw her the other day. Thanks, Nana!  Because this was the last opportunity I had to contribute while I'm still in Pine Hill, I went searching the house for box tops that I didn't gather yet. This morning, me and Mom cut them off of all the new items we had in our pantry! Hopefully, I will continue to collect box tops and give them to younger kids on my street and they can bring them into Pine Hill.

Day 88: More Than Words book drive

Bianca here. While on the couch still recovering, I've been doing some research on local volunteer opportunities in hopes of finding something feasible to do for the blog. I came across and organization called "More Than Words," (MTW) which is a nonprofit social enterprise that empowers and supports youth in foster homes, out of school, or involved with the court in any way to take charge of their lives, and takes steps in the "right direction" to bettering themselves to set and accomplish long term goals. The ultimate goal of MTW is to get the youth involved in leadership, employment, or community oriented positions that will teach them lifelong skills, especially those necessary in running a business, a particular aspiration in which they encourage in their youth. To foster this goal, the youth in MTW run their own book business. Recently in the Sherborn local paper, there was an article about the MTW organization and the town has set up book donation locations in the area. One was at the Sherborn library, so I stopped by on the way to work to drop off a giant bag of books from the Cutler household. Each one of us had perused our own bookshelves to see which books we could donate to that cause. The MTW headquarters for the bookstore is located in Waltham, MA and is looking for volunteers to help sort through the donated books until June 30th. I am hoping to take advantage of this opportunity once I am off crutches!
http://mtwyouth.org/book_donations/

Day 87: Final Special Olympics update

This is the last time this year I will be able to report on my Special Olympics coaching.  I will miss working with the group every Sunday.  Today was the final day of the Summer Games, and once again, the experience was overwhelming.  Once again, some of our best swimmers won gold and silver medals (50 yard Backstroke, 50 yard Butterfly, and 100 Individual Medley).  And once again, the real victories came with athletes who pushed themselves to their limits just to complete the race.  I had some time today to look at some other S.O. events, and saw volleyball, track and gymnastics.  Although I was always somewhat aware of the organization, I was never aware of the magnitude of Special Olympics, and of how much they mean to the disabled and their families.  I feel so priviledged to be able to work with this group.  I feel like now that my rookie year of coaching is done, I will be better able to jump in and contribute when the 2012 team comes together. 

Day 86: Olympic Games

The Olympic games are finally here.  We have been working since January towards the goal of competing at the olympics games this summer. and here they are.  All day today at Harvard University, and until noon tomorrow.  It is an amazing organization that requires an incredible amount of planning, coodination, volunteers and dedication.  It was a long day, but extremely satisfying.  I work with a particular group of boys, aged 8-15, who came in first in the entire state in the 4X50 freestyle relay.  The gold medal winners were very proud.  We work very hard during the year, and it is great to see their hard work pay off.  I am very proud of them.  Tomorrow they will be in a few individual events, and I look forward to reporting on their results.
However, these games are not all about gold medals.  Today I had the priveledge to work with and help some swimmers who can barely communicate, and a 25 yard freestyle/dog paddle/sidestroke combo is a significant accomplishment.  It feels strange to have the parents thank me for my effort, when I can't help but think about what they are thinking when they see their kids swim.  One parent told me that the greatest result of their participation in the Special Olympics, is that for this small window of time, their kids feel like normal kids, doing what normal kids do.  As a parent of 3 "normal" kids, all too often I forget how lucky I am.
More to come tomorrow
Paul

Day 85: Go Green for the Cause

It's truly amazing how many organizations are out there trying to raise money for charitable causes.  Most of them seem to call our house during dinner, but that's another story.  I was driving by Big Y in Walpole (my favorite supermarket of all-time) and they allow charities to put collection bins on their property.  I have never seen (or noticed) this one, but I stopped to take a look.
Go Green for the Cause raises money for Cancer patients and other charities, but their main focus is on environmentally friendly activities and recycling.  They ask for donated items that might otherwise go into landfills.  They sell those items and donate the funds to charities. 
We donated clothes and accessories that we hope can provide some funding for this organization.
http://www.gogreenforthecause.org/

Day 84: Cell Phones for Soldiers

Hey it's Olivia here!
In our household, we have plenty of unused, old cell phones due to frequent upgrades. Noticing this, I found out that The Peace Abbey in Sherborn was our closest drop off spot for the organization "Cell Phones for Soldiers", so I drove there this morning before work to donate the phones. This program was founded by some local teenagers who saw a special on the news one day in 2004 about how the majority of soldiers are unable to call home from overseas due to the high expense. This cause donates phones for soldiers to use to call loved ones in the States. According to the organization's website, "To date we have collected more than 7.5 million cell phones and provided military personnel with more than 90 million minutes of pre-paid calling cards. The program's main revenue stream comes from the recycling of used cell phones. Currently there are more than 6,000 Cell Phones for Soldiers collection sites across the country". This is such a great opportunity for soldiers to have, as they have limited communication with their families while they are away at war. 


www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com 

Day 83: Visiting the Sick and Shutins

Today has been a day full of Visiting the Sick and being kind to the lonely. It started off with visits to 2 of my Communion calls. As always, Karen and Ann were happy to have me come and bring the Eucharist to them. We chatted for a while at each stop. After that work of mercy, Buppa and I went off to pick up Nancy Spinney. If you remember back in the Winter /Spring months, we used to take Nancy to see her husband Bob in the nursing home. Well, Bob went on to his reward on Easter and now Nancy is alone in her new environment of assisted living. The place is lovely, but as her daughter said in a recent e-mail that her mother not only lost her husband but her 2 homes and her independence. Unless someone takes her out, she is stuck there. She chose to go to The Chateau, so off we went. We all had a lovely lunch and Nancy seemed much brighter when we left her than when we picked her up---truly a work of charity. On the way home, we stopped at MaristHill Nursing home to see our friend Ruth---another work of mercy, providing realization how fortunate we are.

Day 82: Help for another Relay for Life

Last Friday, we received an e-mail from Peggy Ring regarding an article in the Metro West News in which her daughter Victoria was quoted about helping the Relay for Life with a jumping rope contest at her school. She was also participating on Saturday walking the track. We were away for the weekend and finally got a check off to Victoria today to add to her donations to the American Cancer Society. Her Grandmother (my friend Shirley) and I did the Relay for Life here in Waltham for many years so I was happy to help Victoria in her efforts.

Day 81: BYOBags to benefit Children's Hospital

Another easy day to give.

Went grocery shopping at Roche Bros where I can bring my own bags and donate the rebate money to Children's Hospital. Today I asked about the success of the program and learned that that since 2008, Roche Bros has given over $84,000 to Children's Hospital; the rebate promo raised $42,000 in 2010 alone. 

Very impressive.  Very inspiring.  Very good to BYOBags!

Day 80: Bicycles Battling Cancer

Hey all, Bianca here to blog about volunteering as Route Monitors in the local Bikes Battling Cancer race, organized by the American Cancer Society.   Olivia had discovered this volunteer opportunity, but quite inconveniently I might add, she found out she got scheduled to work at CVS all day today. Hmmmmm...anyways.....Mom, Sophia and I were placed at mile 83 in the 100 mile bike ride. It was quite a tricky intersection to direct traffic... there was no stop light and cars would come from 4 different directions. There was a little triangle "island" in which we were rotating corner to corner in order to control traffic. Being on crutches, I was mostly just a cheer squad member, while Sophia held the orange flag directing the riders and mom attempted to direct traffic (don't worry, she only almost got hit 3 times or so and I tried to help her with anger management). We were required to wear big orange vests and even though we looked like construction workers, some speedy drivers didn't even see us until Mom was flagging them down before they sped into the riders. Since there was no parking lot at our little station, we had to park off the side of the road, totally pulled up on the grass of someone's side/front lawn. The woman ended up driving home as we were setting up, looking a little confused as to why there was a random van on her property. She ended up being very nice, bringing us all hot chocolate and even let us use her bathroom!

Now is where they story takes a crazy turn. The race went on for about 5 hours. The bikers were pretty sporadic; there were only about 150 participants that came through in the 5 hour span. Sophia enertained us with songs and dance routines, and we brought some playing cards to kill time with, but heck, it was a l-o-n-g- day. We sensed that it was almost the end of the race, but no one was really coming by to tell us that we could leave, or to return our vests and flag. Mom suggested that I drive up to the high school a half a mile away (the next rest stop) to ask what was going on and how much longer we should anticipate being at our stop. I finally hobbled across the street to the car only to find that it wouldn't start! I guess a light was left on and ran down the battery.  Luckily, Mom asked another random neighbor for jumper cables.  I threw my crutches and phone in the car and left the keys on the front seat while I went to open the hood of the car and hook the cables. Mom happened to be putting the chairs in the trunk at the same time, and for some reason when she shut the trunk, the car automatically locked (which it never does by itself! ; we are all still wondering how that happened?). Now, we were locked out of the car, keys in ignition,  so we couldn't even start it up again with the jump. Plus, Mom's phone had died hours before and now my phone, the only working phone, was locked in the car along with my crutches. Talk about convenient. (Oh, and did I mention that Dad was at his coaching Special Olympics Training Day from 11-5 and was unreachable to ask for help.?)  The man all set up to help with the jumper cables was nice enough to offer to drive mom all the way home (hmmmmm...she gets into the car with a total stranger, but he did seem really nice) to get the spare car key, which she wasn't even sure she would find because four household drivers now have the few various car keys hidden at any given moment. Meanwhile, I hopped back across the street with Sophia to keep directing traffic, minus crutches. While mom and her new best-friend-the-neighbor were gone, the coordinators of the race finally stopped by saying that the last bikers had passed. Then Sophia and I ended up sitting outside of the car on the grass in the middle of the intersection waiting for mom to come back! Sophia suggested, (insisted?)  that we sit behind the car so no one could see us. Mom and the nice man finally came back about 20 minutes later and we got the car up and running! (He'll defintely be getting one of her coffee cakes)
It was a very long day but overall full of laughs (and crazy drivers). It was clear that the bikers appreciated us as almost every cyclist that passed us shouted out "thanks" as we directed and cheered them on . Overall, volunteering our Sunday to help the race run smoothly was worth the extended effort it required.  And supporting anyone who wants to do anything to help find a cure for a cancer is good enough reason for us Cutlers to get involved!

Day 79: Happy Birthday Jan!

June 11 is the birthday of one amazing woman, my dear and loving friend Jan.  For over a quarter of a century, we have been celebrating the cheers and tears of life together,  recognizing each others birthday for the gift it really is....another year to continue growing older and avoiding the alternative!  Today, I would like to celebrate her birthday with a memorial gift to the National Parkinson Foundation, in honor of her Mother, Peggy Jane Pence, who lost the fight against Parkinsons.  Although I never had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Pence, I know through Jan, that she was the consummate role model of a devoted, compassionate, selfless, caring and just plain fun mother to her children.  How lovely that her legacy lives on through Jan and her siblings.

http://www.parkinsons.org/

Day 78: Food Drive for Tornado Victims

Hi, It is Sophia. For the past week or so, Pine Hill has been collecting food for the tornado victims in Springfield. The Sherborn Fire Department delivered the food  today. I gave Parmalat milk, which was an item they were suggesting. I saw on the news the tornado warnings and the damage that had been done. I was happy to support these poor families that I would never want to be me.

Day 77: 5th Grade Philanthropy Fair at Pine Hill; Sponsoring Claudia

Hello! It is Sophia (and Mommy/Daddy too!)!

Today our service was for Claudia, our sponsored child in Mexico. She is part of the Hope For A Family Program, and while Daddy is sending our monthly check to support her, I am going to tell you about my 5th Grade Philanthropy Project which was last night.

We all had to chose an organization, learn about it, do something to benefit it, and make a tri-fold board that we had to display yesterday at a big fair at the school.   I chose Hope For A Family for my project. On my tri-fold board I included, why I chose this organization, what Hope For A Family does, how to contact my organization, letters I wrote, letters from my sponsored friend Claudia, and much more. When I contacted Hope For A Family to tell them that I wanted to bring more awareness to their awesome organizatrion, they were very happy.  They sent me all kinds of brochures, props  and information, including 10 folders of children up for sponsorship. In the pictures, I am holding the folders. We had the presentation at our school library and we each (the whole 5th grade) set up our tri-fold posters on a table. Parents, siblings, grandparents, etc. came to stations where that student told them what their orgainization was about. On the right, it is my godmother "Miss D" who came to hear me speak. I was very happy she came, for I don't see her a lot. She was once a 3rd grade teacher so she was very interseted in the curriculum. (In the picture, it looks like she is really enjoying my presentation!!) It was a very fun project for me to do because I learned more about poverty.

Day 76: Volunteering at Teacher Appreciation Luncheon

Patricia here. 
Every year, the school community honors the Pine Hill Faculty with a Teacher Appreciation Luncheon, which is held at the home of one of the many extraordinarily generous families connected to the school.  The entire event is sponsored by the community, and families help out by preparing the entire menu, table arrangements, decorations and flowers.  Today's theme was appropriately Hawaiian as the weather was in the 90's!!  As this is Sophia's last year at Pine Hill, I wanted to be sure to support the event and share my own appreciation to a wonderful group of teachers.  My contribution was providing a case of setlzer water, as well as helping to set up the buffet and waitressing.  I am certain to miss this terrific group of professionals who have been so supportive to my three daughters.

Day 75: Volunteering at Kindergarten PE Class

Hello! It is Sophia. Today I helped out my gym teacher with his kindergartners instead of going out to recess. He played a game that might be familiar to you. First, one person goes out of the room or closes their eyes. While they are gone, someone is chosen to be the "leader". The leader makes up a pattern (clap, clap, snap snap, etc...) and everyone follows. The person opens their eyes and tries to find out who making up the pattern. The leader changes the pattern every now and then. They also jump-roped for a while and ran across the gym while jump-roping. I can't believe this was one of my last times with them!!!

Day 74: Big Brother/Big Sister Donation

An easy day for giving......a bag of item's left on the front porch  to be picked up by the Big Brother Big Sister organiztion.  It continues to amaze, if not emabarass, me to see just how much "stuff" our family owns that we don't really wear or use. Seems we could fill a Hefty bag each week! 

Day 73: Special Olympics

Another challenging practice today.  7 people in one lane, with varied abilities, make it difficult to do more than just keep them moving.  I like to provide instruction and encouragement, but sometimes all I can do is just make sure everyone is swimming the strokes they need to work on for the Olympics coming up in two weeks.  We pushed them fairly hard again today.  I love to see them breathing hard at the end of a set.  It shows they're putting a lot of effort into practice, which pays off in many ways.  Overall, I work with some great kids/people, and many non "special" people could learn from their enthusiasm and work ethic.

Day 72: Epilepsy Foundation Pickup

Today was our day to donate a few things to Epilepsy. They verified that they were coming and to have our articles on the porch between 7:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M. We were in bed about 5 minutes last night and naturally, I was still awake and it dawned on me we hadn't put it on the porch!! Both of us got up and got it together and out on the front porch. Had a laugh about forgetting. Well, 7:00 A.M. came and went and many hours after came and went. The phone rang around 2:30 and it was the pickup man saying he was here for pickup and he couldn't find it. I asked "where are you?" and he said "at # 34." I quickly told him it was #35 and was on my way to front door. There he was with his apology and the bags and box went off on the truck and we appreciate being able to waste not and give items to a very useful cause.

Day 71: Good Samaritan

Friday is Hairdresser Day for me! I have read many stories of the chat and things that go on at the "shop" and the customers all get so friendly. Well, there are 2 ladies that have been going to Casa Mara for 30 years or so. Betty has given up her license (thank God) because she is legally blind. She lives only a few streets away, but hates to "part with a buck" so is delighted when I come at my regular time and can take her home. Josie is another weekly customer who has suffered a couple of strokes --her sister drops her off but I am happy to take her home. They both get to the shop very early and are usually done and sitting awaiting my arrival. It is quite a job getting them in the car and sometimes they sort of fight over the front seat but a pleasure seeing them home safely.

Day 70: Volunteering for 5th Grade Pond Trip

Paul here.  Today I volunteered to help with Sophia's class, who is learning how to assess water quality in local ponds and streams.  A Mass Audubon representative walked with us to the pond across the field from Pine Hill School.  We took water samples and identified some of the creatures swimming around in the muck.  After everyone wrote down what they found, we shared results and found that there were much fewer organisms than have been found in the past.  We discussed some of the potential reasons.  Last night's storm may have had an impact, or we were told a neighboring farm may have dumped manure nearby, or other pollutants may be the cause.  It was interesting to learn how to collect data and come up with proof that something has changed.  Of course, I loved being with my favorite 5th grader.  There was a substitute teacher today (Yaaaay) and me and the other parent volunteers had to help keep the dear children in line.

Day 69: Counting the Church Money

As I explained earlier this month, we have 2 groups of volunteers that count the collections. May was my month and today was our last day. On the fifth Sunday of the month (4 times a year) Saint Jude's Parish sends the collection money to Fr. Joe Domfe in Ghana. He is a missionary priest who comes to our parish every other summer for some "r and r". It is surprising in a way, but the collection on that 5th Sunday is almost always more than the normal weeks. Some people are very interested in the missions and it showed today as there were checks for 80.00, 100.00, 500.00 and one for 1000.00!! At the end of the month, we have to count the coins and roll them. The regular deposit goes in the night depository but the coin has to be taken into the bank and counted. Then back to the rectory with the coin deposit slip, the bank bag, and the key to the depository. Amen for another month!
While I was busy "counting", Buppa went off to Somerville to the funeral of an older, single lady who worked at Western Electric with him over thirty years ago. Only 6 or 8 family members there, so glad he and one other worker made the effort to go.