Women and Schoolchildren Beautify D.C.’s Georgia Avenue
Women young and old who were attending the annual Women’s Federation for World Peace National Assembly in Washington, D.C., grabbed brooms and squeegees the morning of October 23, 2014 to beautify a section of historic Georgia Avenue. Their goal: to exemplify and learn from the theme “Learn to Lead Through Service.”
Scores of children also participated from four local schools: Bridge Academy, Central Charter Public School and Paul Charter School in the District of Columbia, and New Hope Academy in nearby Prince George’s County in Maryland.
“I never realized how much serving people made the ones who are served happy,” said one student from New Hope Academy. “We got comments like ‘Good job!’ and ‘You guys are awesome!’ from store owners and people on the street.”
Another student said: “We had such a great time working together! It seemed like the more energy we put into cleaning the streets, the more we excited each other to do even more and work even harder!”
The service project, to clean and beautify a long section of Georgia Avenue Northwest, was connected with the 22nd Anniversary National Assembly of the Women’s Federation for World Peace USA (WFWP). More than 200 women attended the one-day conference, which was held on October 25, 2014 in the ballroom of The Washington Times. This was the second year in a row that WFWP hosted a service project of this kind.
The project began with a 10 a.m. kickoff meeting at the Metropolitan Police Department station at 6001 Georgia Ave. NW. WFWP USA President Angelika Selle greeted the volunteers and teachers, saying, “Leadership begins with service—not with an attitude of seeking the limelight and coveting titles and accolades, but with an attitude of humility.” She reminded the volunteers of President John F. Kennedy’s famous remark: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
Thereafter, the main speakers were Keith Holman, a representative from D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray’s office; and service project organizer Juanita Pierre-Louis, vice president of WFWP USA. Mr. Holman presented a proclamation from the D.C. government honoring WFWP.
The service project concluded with a community gathering and final remarks at the police station at 2 p.m., followed by a lunch donated by nearby restaurants.
To learn more about the activities and future events of WFWP, visit wfwp.us.