JKCF Scholars and Staff Volunteer with Hands On DC

Nine Jack Kent Cooke Scholars and a handful of Jack Kent Cooke Foundation staff came together on Saturday, March 8, to volunteer with Hands On DC, a service organization dedicated to improving the physical conditions of DC’s public schools. The event kicked off at 9:00 a.m. at Walker Jones Education Campus, and for the better part of five hours, Scholars and staff teamed up to paint murals of famous children’s book covers onto hallway walls of the elementary school.

To ensure accuracy (and more importantly to avoid defacing public property), images were projected onto the walls, stenciled into position, and then carefully painted into place. In total, four murals were completed by the JKCF squad, including The Giving Tree, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Pat the Bunny, and Snowy Day. A handful of the school’s elementary students were present and proudly marched up and down their hallways throughout the morning, keeping careful look over the progress. We took their subsequent grins as a token of approval for a job well done.

While the beautification of the schools was paramount, the event also allowed the JKCF family to bond.

“It’s nice seeing Scholars from many of our programs come together to volunteer for a good cause,” said
JKCF Educational Adviser Alan Royal who attended the event. “It’s also great to provide our Scholars the forum to connect, to talk about their current experiences, and to discuss future endeavors. We’re excited to participate in more events just like this one.”

We’d like to thank all who were able to join us for this effort. Look for more service opportunities in the fall of 2014!