service
s e r v i c e
The service project at the 2018 NJCL
convention involved bringing plastic
shopping bags to the convention and
weaving them into sleeping mats, which
were then distributed to homeless people in
the greater Cincinnati area. Some people
began saving their shopping bags after this
project was announced. Others, like my
family, already had a sizable collection of
old plastic bags sitting in the pantry,
destined for some unknown use. With the
announcement of the service project,
suddenly those forgotten shopping bags had
a purpose. Some delegates brought great
heaps of bags, others just a few, but all
donations were appreciated. Once we got to
Miami University, the girls took their bags
to our 2nd VP Hope Montgomery, and the
boys took their bags to me. All the bags from
Tennessee eventually made their way to our
room in the basement of Stonebridge Hall.
Thus, one of my roommates and I began the
arduous task of counting the bags. We
eventually gave up after the floor was
covered with bags; we had counted over
700.
On Tuesday, we had the first service session.
This mainly consisted of cutting the handles
off the bags and cutting down a line on the
remainder of the bag, so the bag became a
loop. A good number of Tennessee delegates
attended, along with many more delegates
from across the nation. On Wednesday, we
began to weave together the bags into long
strands.
Though the process was initially confusing,
most everyone caught on and began
working through their strands (which in my
opinion looked like a baguette). Thursday’s
service project session was a bit more
crowded and confusing, but it was
productive nonetheless. Many people were
still working on braiding the bags together,
and others were beginning to make the
actual mats. Thankfully, there was an extra
session on Friday where things wrapped up.
The service project wasn’t a dull event
where JCLers slaved away with the bags. It
was quite the opposite. It was a lively crowd
filled with music and people getting to
know each other. In those service sessions,
we saw this convention’s theme come to life:
“Ego vos hortari tantum possum ut
amicitiam omnibus rebus humanis
anteponatis,” that is, “I urge you, as much as
I am able, to place friendship above all
human issues.” Joy and laughter rang
through the room where the project was
taking place, as well as universally liked
music. More than this convention’s theme, I
think the quote from which next year’s
convention theme comes definitely showed
itself in the happy labors of the JCLers here:
“Bees are not of a solitary nature, as eagles
are, but are like human beings.”
Elliott Clark
2018-2019 TJCL Secretary