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PBCSI volunteers join Marillac Social Center at MLK Peace Fair
By Pro Bono and Community Service Initiative /
February 4, 2016 /
Posted in: Pro Bono & Community Service, Public Interest Law, Student News /
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Pro Bono and Community Service Initiative (PBCSI) volunteers participated in the Marillac Social Center's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Fair on January 16 on Chicago's West Side.
As part of PBCSI's Donate-a-Day program, volunteers helped Marillac students and their families with arts and crafts, playing bingo, dancing, decorating cookies and reading short stories. Before the fair ended, volunteers, students, family and staff gathered together to discuss the importance of MLK's legacy and its relation to community and, in particular, gun violence in Chicago. After the group discussion, DePaul volunteers heard from Marillac staff members and young women who had attended Marillac's after school program for a number of years and continue to volunteer or work there.
“It was honestly one of the most rewarding experiences I have had at DePaul,” said first-year student Katy Green. “More than the actual Donate-a-Day was the opportunity we had to sit down with several girls, who were all around the same age as us, and hear their stories about gun violence and the struggles they face on a daily basis just walking around their neighborhood. Our discussion highlighted the importance of having places like the Marillac Center for kids to go to in order to just be kids. You could tell that the families and staff were appreciative of us being there. It was a really great experience.”
PBCSI's next Donate-a-Day event will be held Saturday, February 20, at Deborah's Place, which provides housing and services to homeless women in Chicago.