Friends School of Baltimore: Extends Quaker Value of Empowered Community to West Baltimore
“Eventually, we were [all] running really low on toilet paper. I think that brought it home to all of us—what it must feel like to not have things at a snap of your fingers.”
Friends School of Baltimore family member
Until COVID-19 rocked our collective lives this past March, with the exception of facing blizzards and hurricanes, the daily struggle to obtain basic hygiene products isn’t a reality of life that most people share. Then suddenly after the World Health Organization declared the virus to be a world pandemic on March 11, essentials like toilet paper, sanitizers, wipes, bleach, and other common products quickly vanished from store shelves and became rare commodities.
Since 2003, The Friends School of Baltimore families have donated toys, clothes, and household items to families served by Promise Heights and Family Connections in West Baltimore during their winter Giving Tree Drive. In March, as difficulties presented by the global pandemic became clear, the Friends School team drew from the remainder of their 2019/20 Giving Tree Drive funds to purchase and donate crucial supplies, including hygiene, paper, and grooming products. Promise Heights staff delivered baskets of these supplies to families in Upton/Druid Heights during weekly food distribution events in June 2020.
Friends School parent, Lisa Pupa who led the 2019 Giving Tree Drive shared the background of this project that began in 2003 as part of the school’s Middle School Service Day. “Back at the beginning, Middle School students made gift tags for this wintertime service project. The gifts matched ‘wishes’ from children and families in need. Tags were shared with Friends School families who wanted to participate. Families would purchase and bring age-appropriate gifts and ‘wished-for’ items to meet the need of kids and families in Promise Heights and Family Connections.”
Lisa described the school’s service abilities as being multifaceted. “I’m proud to help build and continue the tradition that has continued for more than a decade. As the Giving Tree drive reaches its final days, Middle School students are often on hand to help parents load several carloads full of ‘wishes.’ You know, the Middle School is a wonderful age group--the world gets larger for them, and this project offers a way of feeling empowered and helps kids learn about things that are going on in the world. It also opens the doors for our families to be engaged with other parents and engage with your [Promise Heights] families and the community at large. It’s important to remember that we're the Friends School of Baltimore, not just the Friends School of North Baltimore. It’s a school that encourages discussion and listening, not just from your own perspective, not trying to speak for others.”
While this was Pupa’s first year as the Project’s solo Chairperson, she has worked with the committee for four years and expects to continue the role for several years to come. “Since we were planning the surplus distribution exactly as the COVID pandemic hit, we realized, ‘Oh my goodness—air mattresses are not the most important thing right now.So, our partners gave us a list of necessities that would really help, and we tried to quickly get them dispersed through our contacts.”
Considering the ideal timing of these crucial gift boxes that arrived in the midst of a pandemic, it’s moving to hear Pupa describe her role as this year’s Chair was “like being the next person running in a relay race,” since she worked closely with and learned so much from two essential people:
“Laurie Haas was a really important person to teach me the ropes, as for years, she ran it along with Gisele Ferretto from University of Maryland [Baltimore] who started the initiative as a Friends School parent. They have so much experience that they can practically do the work with their eyes closed, so it was very easy to jump in and kind of learn how to make this happen. Actually, it really runs itself because there are so many people that just are grateful to have this connection…and it's really great that the Parent Association came up with this a long time ago.”
Anyone familiar with the school and its mission will recognize its commitment to the Baltimore community since its beginning in 1784. As mentioned in their website, “It's our values-based Quaker education, a 300-year-old tradition that helps us create and sustain an inclusive community that promotes diversity and equality in all forms — in race, religion, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomics, sexual orientation, as well as learning style and opinion. We encourage respect for the variety of beliefs and backgrounds reflected in and shared by everyone, through day-to-day activities, curriculum, and school-wide celebrations. We know that children thrive when they are allowed to learn safe in an environment where they will be supported by the adults and their peers. Students have many opportunities to participate in diversity work, both inside and outside the classroom. Children in all three divisions engage in a variety of activities, from the Kids of Color group and the African American Mentoring Program, to International Movie Night, and cultural competency training. Students also attend regional and national diversity conferences, and interested Upper School students may choose to lead a Middle School diversity conference.”
These recent gifts once again express Friends’ commitment to celebrate diversity, “both inside and outside the classroom.” Promise Heights is thankful for our valued partnership and the school’s continued generosity to the children and families of Upton/Druid Heights. We’re looking forward to building on our strong and important partnerships for many years to come.