VOLUNTEERING FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD, INDIANAPOLIS Each year, Sycamore School looks for volunteer opportunities that can potentially impact residents in the neighborhoods around the school and are available to Sycamore staff. One of the volunteer opportunities this school year was to contribute time at the Crooked Creek Food Pantry, a pantry that benefits the local neighborhood, and also at Circle City Relief, an organization that serves in the School 60 parking lot at 34th and Meridian from 12:30 to 2pm every Sunday. Sycamore School’s Head of Early Childhood, Jennifer Williams, remembers that she would to take her Kindergarten students to Crooked Creek when she was a teacher at Sycamore, and Kindergarten classes continue that tradition with Sycamore teachers, Ruth Moll and Marissa Argus. This year, Williams and other adults from the Sycamore staff volunteered their time at the pantry.
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“The Saturday morning that I volunteered
In addition to an annual Sycamore food
has stored in the back. After the pantry
with other Sycamore staff was the first time
drive during Spirit Week in the fall,
opened, our teachers and staff assisted
I had actually worked at the pantry when
Sycamore teachers worked with Crooked
customers with selecting their items.
customers were shopping,” Williams says.
Creek this year to teach students about
“When our Kindergarten class visits, the
volunteerism. The teachers and staff
Williams says she originally found out
pantry director opens the pantry on an ‘off ’
also gave of their own time to help the
about the Crooked Creek Food Pantry
day just for our students. That Saturday, it
organization with distribution of food to
through her church, St. Luke’s United
was the day after a fairly large snowstorm,
customers of the pantry. Williams said
Methodist Church. “They are one of
and several of the regular volunteers were
they had two main jobs during their time
the partners in the pantry organization.
not able to fill their shifts. The Sycamore
at the pantry. Before the pantry opened
I was also looking for an alternative
volunteers were much needed.”
and during down times that morning, they
project for our Kindergarten Pilgrim
stocked the shelves from items the pantry
unit,” Williams says. “That was when we
