Written by Denise Gary
Photographs © Robert Gary, Denise Gary, and Steven Gary
You wanna see focus? You wanna see dedication? You wanna see awesome-ness? Well, just host the kids of Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center’s (SARRC) GoodDeedWorks volunteer team at your business or organization and watch the magic flow! We recently hosted the GoodDeedWorks volunteers for the second time this year and they “booked up” the bare walls of our new office!
After demonstrating my instruments of wisdom – a glowing orb and bobblehead Yoda – I talked to the kids about Kids Need to Read, leadership, challenges, and having fun.
Debb explained the book sorting project.
Stacks of unassembled shelves and bins of books awaited the kids.
One group of volunteers worked on assembling the shelves . . .
. . . while another group sorted books.
Then the kids switched jobs.
Eventually, the kids shelved the books according to age groups and alphabetized by author name.
When the job was complete, we handed out KNTR goodie backpacks (sponsored by Bookmans) to each of the volunteers.
Everyone received a copy of Out of my Mind, by Sharon M. Draper, because we never let kids leave our office without a new book.
By putting shelves together, and sorting and shelving books, the kids made our new home look beautiful and inviting.
We are now surrounded by books . . . not to mention we can now easily find the titles we seek. We had become so stuffed in our last office that digging out books for donations had become a challenge.
We thank the SARRC GoodDeedWorks team for sharing their smiles and helping us to make our dreams come true. We cannot wait to have you back again in the spring!
Photo Gallery: SARRC GoodDeedWorks Volunteer Day
Related Blog: Looking Beyond the Challenge