America Reads * America Serves at St. John’s University aims to support and aid our school and community by placing volunteers in areas of great need.  The “Soldiers of Service”, S.O.S, team did just that when we hosted “Christmas in April” at the Briarwood Family Residence, a local homeless shelter.

“Christmas in April” was an event that evolved from a simple idea out of the S.O.S team members to create an event for children in need.  Taking advantage of the warm April weather but also shying away from the typical Easter celebrations, we ultimately created “Christmas in April”.  This event was two-fold consisting of a donation drive for a number of weeks prior to the event. 

“Christmas in April” occurred on Wednesday, April 18^th.  Up to 40 children of all ages, ranging from 6-15 years old, were able to take part in the festivities.  The Briarwood Family Residence’s staff was extremely supportive and helpful from initial thought to completion of the event.  We welcomed over 20 volunteers from our own organization, Jumpstart and the University who wanted to help make a difference.   Activities included arts and crafts ornament making and relay races outside on the playground.   A beautiful cake was donated from a local bakery and donations from the drives (that included school supplies, socks and t-shirts) were packaged and given to every child.  

The America Reads*America Serves program is wonderful in the sense that it gives you the freedom to truly target places and areas that we believe need our help.  This was certainly the case in this instance because the Soldiers of Service team was afforded the opportunity to not only formulate a beneficial event but also make it happen and see it through to the end.  It was a truly rewarding experience.

- Jessica Williams, Team Leader 2011-2012