What’s the best way to celebrate the 56th year of a youth-led conservation service movement? A conservation service event led by young people, obviously.
On Saturday, June 22, SCA staff and volunteers from all over the East Coast join forces with Points of Light conference-goers from all over the US to commemorate SCA’s 56th anniversary with a Founders Day service event on the National Mall in Washington DC. The occasion, dubbed Servapalooza, had SCA crews from New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and the District of Columbia working side-by-side with NPS rangers, Points of Light executives, and an assortment of volunteers eager to serve the planet amongst a famous assortment of towering stone monuments to service.
The day began at 8 AM with opening remarks and an AmeriCorps NCCC-led wake-up dance at the World War II Memorial. From there, the hundreds of volunteers in attendance were divided into groups to tackle a variety of maintenance needs at memorial sites all over the 146 acre national park in downtown DC.
Flotsam was skimmed from fountains and reflecting pools, invasives were pulled from gardens, and litter was packed up and hauled away from walkways and lawns. The day’s work was fueled mainly by an undying commitment to keeping our nation’s green spaces in inspiring condition, but also by energy bars generously donated by Kind Healthy snacks, tea provided by Honest Tea, and salad wraps rolled up all nice-like by DC’s favorite purveyor of leafy lunches, Sweetgreen. All of said items were earned and enjoyed on the sweeping lawns of what might as well be America’s front yard, the National Mall. It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning, and a great way to celebrate 56 years of youth-led service with SCA.
