{"id":3695,"date":"2013-01-21T17:09:20","date_gmt":"2013-01-21T22:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=3695"},"modified":"2013-01-21T22:01:52","modified_gmt":"2013-01-22T03:01:52","slug":"mlk-day-celebrated-with-energetic-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=3695","title":{"rendered":"MLK Day celebrated with energetic service"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coatesville Area Senior High served as hub for multitude of activities<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/span><\/strong>, Managing Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Brielle Bullock (from left); her mother Quiana Bullock; and Will Royal entertain an audience in the CASH gymnasium with their Zumba moves.<\/p><\/div>\n

Not everyone could match the hip-swiveling moves of 18-year-old Will Royal, who participated in a Zumba dance-exercise session at Coatesville Area Senior High led enthusiastically by Adgrian McCain on Monday.<\/p>\n

Some opted not to try and compete.\u00a0 Like others, CASH Principal Richard J. Fisher watched appreciatively as Royal and his whirling companions took a break from the multitude of more sedentary Martin Luther King Day activities. The result: A visual demonstration of the energy that coursed through the school. \u201cI\u2019m not sure my knee could handle that,\u201d Fisher explained.<\/p>\n

Brielle Bullock, 2 \u00bd, usually loves to dance, said her mother, Quiana Bullock. Perhaps intimidated by the crowds, Brielle decided that she preferred to keep the beat while being carried, giving her mother an extra workout. \u201cShe really loved the storytelling,\u201d her mother said of their earlier schedule.<\/p>\n

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Jayonce McBall, 8, painstakingly works on a quilt destined for a senior citizen.<\/p><\/div>\n

For the hundreds of people who showed up at the high school from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., organizers made sure no one had difficulty finding something to do.\u00a0 Representatives from the Coatesville Area School District, Coatesville Youth Initiative, and the Coatesville Area NAACP organized the event, designed to improve mind and body and pay homage to Martin Luther King through a day of service in his honor.<\/p>\n

In one room, service providers, such as Ches Penn Health Services and the Domestic Violence Center, handed out brochures and answered questions. In another, Dr. Tonya Thames Taylor, a West Chester University history professor, Coatesville school board member, and president of the Coatesville Area NAACP, led an insightful panel discussion on \u201cHuman Trafficking.\u201d<\/p>\n

A middle-school mock trial \u2013 Rumpelstiltzkin vs. Queen Malory \u2013 attracted an audience in the auditorium while other rooms hosted workers diligently creating quilts or care packages destined for area senior citizens.<\/p>\n

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Coatesville Police Officer Rodger Ollis applies a fresh coat of paint to a wall at the Coatesville Community Center.<\/p><\/div>\n

Although the high school served as the central hub for the bulk of the day\u2019s pursuits, some volunteers ventured outside. \u201cIt was cold, but it was worth it,\u201d said Aesha McGibboney, a CASH assistant principal. She led a contingent of five students who contributed to a beautification effort at Palmer Park, where volunteers painted curbs and benches and picked up trash. Another group worked inside at the Coatesville Community Center, where Coatesville Police Officer Rodger Ollis supervised a painting crew.<\/p>\n

Marie Hess, who heads the city\u2019s Parks and Recreation Commission, said\u00a0\u00a0 she divided her time between the high school and the community center.\u00a0 \u201cIt was great seeing everyone work together,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Jack Laufer, Coatesville\u2019s new police chief, said he also spent time at both venues.\u00a0 He said he couldn\u2019t have asked for a better day to get started than \u201ca day of service for Martin Luther King\u201d and was impressed with what he saw.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m very glad to be a part of this community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Teresa Powell, a school district administrator, said the response to the day – as well as the preparation for it \u2013 were equally gratifying. She said the district\u2019s six elementary-school teachers each selected five students to receive awards. She said the 30 students were honored for \u201cpossessing the good character traits that Dr. King embodied.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Samaria Turner, 15, delights in her job of handing out t-shirts to volunteers.<\/p><\/div>\n

A little after noon, Michele Ollis, who helped organize a canned-goods collection to benefit the Chester County Food Bank, expressed thanks that 420 pounds of food had been packed for delivery. Two hours later, she shook her head in delighted disbelief. \u201cEight hundred and twenty pounds!\u201d she exclaimed.<\/p>\n

Organizers said the day was scheduled to complement Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s goal of fostering \u00a0\u201c\u2026a nation of freedom and justice for all, and [where] all citizens to live up to the purpose and potential of America by applying the principles of nonviolence to make this country a better place to live\u2014 creating the Beloved Community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Denise Ray, principal at Scott Middle School, said she was particularly proud of the quilt-making initiative, which started as an after-school project at the school. Not surprisingly, she said the Coatesville Senior Center has embraced the results. \u201cWhat\u2019s not love about something so beautiful to keep you warm?\u201d she asked, pointing to one of the finished products.<\/p>\n

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Brooke Hanson, 14, of South Brandywine Middle School, gets ready to play Queen Malory in the mock trial.<\/p><\/div>\n

As Ray watched, 8-year-old Jayonce McBall from Caln Elementary demonstrated her newly-acquired hand-sewing skills, working on a section of one of four quilts in progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a great experience,\u201d Ray enthused, echoing sentiments that were widely shared about the experience.<\/p>\n

Asked what she would say to those who didn\u2019t show up, Autumn Smith, a 17-year-old CASH student, didn\u2019t hesitate: \u201cYou\u2019re missing out.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coatesville Area Senior High served as hub for multitude of activities By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times Not everyone could match the hip-swiveling moves of 18-year-old Will Royal, who participated in a Zumba dance-exercise session at Coatesville Area Senior High led enthusiastically by Adgrian McCain on Monday. Some opted not to try and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,1],"tags":[1372,1368,1371,1328,29,918,258,1374,1375,1373,419,1369],"class_list":["post-3695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","category-uncategorized","tag-aesha-mcgibboney","tag-cash-principal-richard-j-fisher","tag-ches-penn-health-services","tag-coatesville-area-naacp","tag-coatesville-area-school-district","tag-coatesville-police-officer-rodger-ollis","tag-coatesville-youth-initiative","tag-denise-ray","tag-dr-tonya-thames-taylor","tag-jack-laufer","tag-marie-hess","tag-martin-luther-king-day"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}