The Chapel School observed Make a Difference Day

Bronxville, NY- On October 17th, The Chapel School observed Make a Difference Day -- a national day of community service. Teachers and parents came together to create a “service fair” with stations that provided a wide variety of projects to help those in need. Over 100 friends and families of the school participated in this day of caring.

Service projects completed at this event included making slipper socks for shut-ins and nursing home patients, coloring cards for children in the hospital, and making birdfeeder garlands that participants took home to help feed birds in their neighborhoods. This year a few new service projects were introduced. “I wanted to switch it up a little, that way our volunteers stay excited about the new projects and we expand our community outreach” stated Mrs. Kate Marino, organizer of The Chapel School’s annual event. One new project this year, is Caregiver kits for The Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital.

During the week leading up to Make a Difference Day, all Chapel School students were asked to bring in small toiletry items that would be used to assemble Caregiver Kits for Maria Ferari’s Children Hospital at Westchester Medical Center. These kits will be given to patients and caregivers at the hospital when children are brought in for emergency situations. Often times families are in the hospital for unexpected reasons and these kits will provide them with basic

toiletries to help ease their arrival and stay at the hospital. The Chapel School completed over 100 kits to aid this effort. The Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital is a place where parents are not visitors but partners with the staff in the care of their children. The caregiver kits contain items one may forget or not think about when caring for a child in the hospital. “It is a little bit of comfort, to let the caregiver know that someone cares for them as well.”

A school wide call was also put out for denim jeans. Volunteers used patterns and the denim to create shoe pieces for “Sole Hope.” This organization uses pieces of denim to create shoes for children in Uganda that prevent jiggers from infesting and infecting the feet of children. Adults in Uganda also benefit from Sole Hope by working jobs to create the shoes.

The Chapel School is a place where service as a way of life is promoted to all students and families. Make a Difference Day is just one occasion when Chapel puts this belief into action. Students participate in Midnight Runs, food collections for ECAP, and other projects to help those in need throughout the school year. Sharing time, talents, and treasures with people in the community and around the world distinguishes The Chapel School as a caring place where God’s love is freely shared. “This is a great event where families and friends come together to lend a hand to those in need,” said project coordinator Kate Marino. “The Chapel School is a place where we teach service as a way of life. We strive to Make a Difference every day in the world around us through acts of kindness.”

Kate Marino, The Chapel School Music Teacher for Pre-K through grade 2 and Youth Minister of the Village Lutheran Church, organized the Make a Difference. Village Lutheran Church and The Chapel School are located at 172 White Plains Road in Bronxville. For more information about Village Lutheran Church and The Chapel School and its programs, call 914-337-3202 or visit www.thechapelschool.org.