I had a busy day yesterday, with the Buddhist study group at my house then seeing Tibetan art with my teacher, going out for a bite to eat with my husband, then seeing middle school kids perform in a play they wrote. My friend and I, many years ago, were told by a teacher that a metal shop at the middle school campus had been abandoned, and of course, the arts had been eliminated from the curriculum, and we decided to organize a campaign to make the empty metal shop into a theater. Many parents and neighbors and artisans donated their efforts and materials to cleaning out the junk, fixing up the space, getting lighting, benches, etc. And over a dozen years later it is still going strong, with teachers using elective time to encourage stagecraft and acting and writing. The play was amazingly sophisticated and the enthusiasm of the kids delightful.
We began a mentor program as well, and that is still functioning as well. It felt good to celebrate our trust that if we got things started, the school would keep it going. It doesn't take much to make a difference. Boxes of costumes and other things we lugged around may have caused a twinge or two to this day in our backs, but they remind us how caring about the little things causes a response that ripples onward.
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