Thanksgiving Gratitude: The Songbird Performs and Volunteers at the Plainfield Church

This Thanksgiving Day, the local youth volunteer group, otherwise known as the Songbird, decided to spend their Thanksgiving at the First Unitarian Society of Plainfield, serving meals and putting on a musical performance for visitors.

The Songbird group is a youth volunteer group consisting of middle
and high students, mostly from William Annin Middle School and Ridge
High School. What ties of members of the Songbird together is their collective
passion for music and love for the community. The Songbird has performed in a
variety of places, from the Ridge Oak Senior Housing Center to the Saint Barnabas Medical Center. In addition to performances, the Songbird also enjoys helping out the town, adopting Finley Avenue and sweeping the streets over the summer. Not only does the Songbird incorporate their musical interests in volunteering, they take pleasure in reaping the benefits of giving back to the community. This time, the Songbird decided to spend their Thanksgiving at the Plainfield Church, with the goal of nourishing not only the body, but the soul.

In total, the Songbird served over two hundred and fifty people, providing them with a Thanksgiving afternoon filled with company and friendship. At the church, Charlie Neiss and Sharon McGuire, have made it a Thanksgiving tradition to serve the visitors of the church during this holiday, seamlessly organizing the food service every year without fail. Regardless of who they are or where they come from, both Neiss and McGuire provide a warm meal and a kind smile. The Songbird had the wonderful opportunity to take part, and helped out by pouring drinks, loading the visitors’ plates with food, and preparing desserts. Although the service only lasted three hours, behind the volunteer work was nearly a month of preparation and planning.

In order for the Songbird to have a successful afternoon of volunteering, it took dozens of emails, countless nights practicing pieces for the performance, and a long grocery list that took even longer to shop for. Regardless of how tedious the development of the service was, all of Songbird agreed that serving others was worth the work. Bright Lin, the founder of the Songbird, remembers how acts of kindness, regardless of the magnitude, can influence others to pass the love on. “I have taken my kids to serve meals during Thanksgiving about five years ago, in Plainfield as well,” she notes. “Now, five years later, we are taking an entire group of volunteers willing to deliver the same amount of gratitude and selflessness. It’s wonderful.”

After the people received their meal and sat down, the Songbird got up and began the afternoon of music. The members performed traditional music, such as a violin duet, a piano solo, and a cello solo. The performance also included f performing arts- members showcased their talent in the Chinese yo yo, traditional dancing, and singing. All of the visitors greatly enjoyed the Songbird’s concert, tapping their feet and cheering the members on as they were on stage. At the end of the performance, the Songbird joined hands and sang "Amazing Grace", expressing their gratitude for family and friends. Gradually, all of the people in the audience began to join in, filling up the church with the harmonious sound of instruments and hopeful voices. In addition to “Amazing Grace”, the Songbird also taught the visitors the sign language of the song “A World Filled With Warmth”, another piece that truly captured the importance of being grateful. Sign language is universally understood, regardless of one’s background or story. These two songs ultimately brought the volunteers and the visitors together, bringing on a Thanksgiving reunion of their own.

Despite the fact that it took a bit of negotiation and preparation in order to have a successful Thanksgiving service, it was the effort out of love that made the day a rewarding one. The Songbird unanimously agreed that a Thanksgiving one well spent is one surrounded by love-the love of serving meals to those who need them, the love of a sweet melody securing the bonds of people through music. That day, the true joy of Thanksgiving was in the atmosphere: being appreciative not for what one has, but for who they have.