"Jumping Up and Down" for JOIN HANDS DAY
Generations Come Together to Volunteer across America

By Annah Abetti

Rosedale Development Association volunteers build base of picnic table. Much to be proud of: Rosedale volunteers relax in the newly completed space! Volunteers take a break from painting a D.C. school to pose with the JOIN HANDS DAY mascot.

"Is this Candid Camera?"

Kelly Jander, volunteer coordinator of the Rosedale Development Association in Kansas City, Kan., asked this question when she learned she has been awarded a $1,500 grant, one week before her JOIN HANDS DAY project.

"It came at the right time," said Linda Wright, office manager of the Rosedale Development Association. "We were going to nix a major part of the project because of not enough money. But then it just came! The project just turned out awesome."

Like the women from Rosedale Development Association, thousands of youth and adults nationwide gathered together on JOIN HANDS DAY, a national day of volunteer service. Founded in 1999, JOIN HANDS DAY is sponsored by America's Fraternal Benefit Societies, in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network and specifically targets and develops relationships between young people and adults through neighborhood volunteering.

This year, on May 7, 2005, adults and youth joined hands across the country to participate in volunteer projects. Foundation staff directly participated in JOIN HANDS DAY by sending a team to help beautify 33 public schools in the district, in partnership with Hands on DC, an all-volunteer, one-day, work-a-thon each spring that improves conditions in the D.C. public schools and raises money for college scholarships.

"It was a wonderful opportunity to witness people of all ages coming together for the greater good of the community," said Kisha James, the Foundation's media relations & communications manager.

The Rosedale Development Association in Kansas City, Kan., (Rosedale) called their JOIN HANDS DAY project "Operation Rosedale Paradise." After a communal breakfast, 70 volunteers transformed a bare lot behind the building into a green area surrounded by flowers and a wooden fence. Volunteers built a stage-deck and two round picnic tables, and painted a nearby playground with bright colors.

One of 10 JOIN HANDS DAY grant recipients, Rosedale had intended to cancel their deck-stage building project the morning before they were told about the grant award. They did not have enough money to cover all the lumber for the building projects, even at a discount rate. They called the funding a "life saver."

Wendy Wilson, executive director of Rosedale Development Association wrote, "We were jumping up and down with joy (literally) after your call."

Learn more about future National Days of Service opportunities.