The girls dived right in and did a great job with the work at hand. We had over 400 brochures to fold and purple ribbons to pin. Lunch had to be fixed and set out. We also asked one of the girls to help tweak a PSA that was put together some time back.
Mixed in with all of this was a lively discussion. All of the girls indicated that they are familiar with domestic violence through friends and family members. One of them already has alarm bells ringing in her current dating relationship.
We have to tell you though. The more the kids come to us the more impressed we get. Even though the kids may come to us through Restorative Justice they each made the personal decision to get up, get dressed and come help.
Sometimes there are kids who don't follow through with their court-ordered assignments. They go to the next level in the system. Not our kids though. They come and are usually pretty cheerful about being here. In fact, for the second time we had a friend come with someone who was doing their community service. We were really impressed with that.
The next time you see our brochures and an outreach event or look at our display please take a good look. Our kids made it and probably folded it. While you are looking, feel free to be as proud of them as we are.
To our girls:
You can achieve your dreams. Never stop trying. We believe in you and hope that you do too.
~~ Many thanks to Pleasant Hill UMC for making our work possible.~~
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