Schools unite for MLK Day

Posted by Rich Schwartzman on January 15, 2024

Volunteers gather in the Hillendale Elementary School gymnasium to take part in the Martin Luther King Day of Service.

The traditional observance of Martin Luther King Day in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District was a little different this year. There were activities in most of the district elementary schools in years past, but this year Pocopson and Hillendale Elementary schools teamed up for projects in the Hillendale gym.

According to Pocopson Principal Cliff Beaver, “We do have a tradition of doing MLK Day at Pocopson but, this year the PTO representatives knew each other and started talking about collaborating. This is the first year, but we hope to continue. We love all four schools to do a collaboration.”

State Tpr. Michael Carter, of Troop J, Avondale, gets into the act by helping to make surgical caps for kids at Christiana Care in Delaware as part of the MLK Day observance at Hillendale Elementary School in Pennsbury Township.

Leigh Foppert, Pocopson’s MLK chair, agreed with Beaver about getting Unionville and Chadds Ford Elementary schools to join in on one big collaboration. She added, that the multi-school effort helps to develop “a sense of community and unity.”

Kamille Fox, the MLK Day chair from Hillendale called the day an “outreach activity where we have different service organizations from the community. We bring them here to Hillendale to give our students a chance to learn about those organizations and then to get involved with those organizations. Each of the organizations has helped us come up with a project that kids can do that will create either a product or sometimes just a collection of things that will benefit the people they serve.”

Among the various organizations at Hillendale were Nemours Hospital, Pocopson Homes, and Martha House, a domestic abuse shelter. The U-CF students made craft kits for the patients at Nemours, and cards and “busy boards” for people at Pocopson Home. Fox said the busy boards are “activities to keep their minds busy and help slow the decline from dementia.”

They also made encouragement signs for the kids staying at Martha House until their mothers find permanent housing. And they helped make surgical caps for children undergoing various surgeries at Christiana Care in Wilmington.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.