Last Tuesday, I participated in a Green Apple Day of Service event with my colleagues, Will Su and Katie Ferrier. The Green Apple Day of Service (GADOS) began in 2012 as a chance for schools, organizations, and communities to participate in a day-long service project aimed at creating healthy, safe, and productive learning environments. GADOS projects occur around the globe on a day in September every year. This year, the Massachusetts chapter of the USGBC helped organize events and raise money to provide grants to projects; Arrowstreet provided grants to support four local GADOS projects. Find out more on the Green Apple website.
Our GADOS project was building a playground and other outdoor spaces for the Brooke Mattapan Charter School. Arrowstreet designed the school, which recently completed construction and had its grand opening this school year. One hundred volunteers including players from the New England Revolution and New England Patriots came out to build a play structure with climbing walls and slides, garden boxes where students will plant vegetables, benches for the basketball court, and picnic tables for outdoor classes and activities. We also planted bulbs and other plants throughout the building site.
It was a lot of hard work to make all of this come together in 6 hours, but well worth the effort to see the gratitude and excitement on the faces of the students at the unveiling. I will definitely be participating in a GADOS event again next year. To find projects in your area check the Green Apple website next summer.
Click here to see a video of the event.
Topics: Charity, Institutional