Grant Park Conservancy

After a slight delay due to rain, we headed off to Grant Park. When we arrived, we met up with Ms. Skyler, the volunteer coordinator, who introduced us to the Grant Park Conservancy’s mission and the history of the park. Grant Park was truly a beautiful park in the midst of bustling Atlanta. The land was donated to the city by railroad tycoon Mr. Grant and requested that it be preserved as a nature park that all of Atlanta could enjoy. We served by pulling weeds, cleaning up flowerpots, fertilizing plants, and removing any non-native plants from native areas. This helped improve the appearance of the park and keep a healthy balance with native and invasive plant species. 

The King Center

By midday, we headed to The King Center. As we were walking up to the center itself, we noticed many impactful quotes from King and others alike. During our visit, we got to delve into the leaders of the civil rights movement that advocated for nonviolent, peaceful resistance. The most prominent figures exhibited here were Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Ganhdi. Overall, it was a great learning experience and we are super glad our day permitted us time to stop by!

Open Hand

Following our visit to The King Center, we went to Open Hand Atlanta, a nonprofit organization that provides meals kits that support different medical needs and dietary restrictions. They kindly served us lunch and after that we were given a tour of the facility that consists of mainly kitchens, offices, and giant walk-in freezer. As we prepared for our service, we put on gloves, aprons, hairnets, and took all of the necessary precautions to ensure that the meals we were preparing were completely sanitary. We formed an assembly to place the food (which Open Hand Atlanta cooks themselves) into their plates to then be sealed and packaged. In fact, our group was so productive and helpful that Open Hand ran out of food for us to pack and we ended up finishing hours early!

National Center for Civil and Human Rights

Due to the shift in schedule, we decided to visit the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, which had immersive exhibits that deeply connected us to events from the Civil Rights Movement. One part of the museum that particularly stood out to the group was the Sit-In Simulation. Set up in a 50s diner with headphones, we were put in the position of a Civil Rights activist peacefully protesting by sitting at the counter of this diner. This exhibit allowed for us to get a glimpse at what it was like to be in the shoes of these activists and all of the hardship they had to endure in order to simply earn their rights in society. Another horrifying yet powerful exhibit featured Mary Turner, a pregnant woman who was lynched gruesomely after publicly condemning the unlawful lynching of her husband. We learned so much about the Civil Rights Movement and activism in the numerous exhibits. There was also kids section of the museum that created a playful atmosphere that allowed kids to make change through creation. We created name tags, hats, and participated in our own silent disco!

Wrapping Up Day Two

Then we came back to the hotel and got our Taco Tuesday dinner which included an assortment of tacos and burritos. We shared our thoughts about our day and then broke out into our group assignments (where we’re currently writing the blog, fourth wall break lol). Craving a little sweet treat, some of us went out to get ice cream with Mr. Ryan. That concludes our service-packed day! We’re ready for our early call time and all the volunteering that awaits us tomorrow!

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