Members of Save Our Neighborhoods, Arts United, CD-Recreation  and B.O.L.D. (Building Our Lives Drug-free) Coalition joined the City of Fall River in sponsoring a Day of Service activity in celebration of Martin Luther King Day by creating 1,000 Valentines Day cards to be sent to the men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Children and folks of all ages were invited to attend the morning event on January 19, 2009 at the Bank Street Armory. Participants were provided with materials to assist them in creating hand-made Valentines as well as four large three-by-ten-foot banners, decorated with well wishes. The Valentines and banners will be shipped overseas to the troops, arriving in time for Valentines Day. Save Our Neighborhoods member Stefani Koorey was tapped by President Elect Barack Obama’s Inauguration Committee to organize a Fall River event. The new Fall River resident has been hard at work putting to practice the grassroots organizing training she received at Camp Obama during the presidential campaign. For information, contact Koorey at V4Troops@gmail.com or 508-672-0099 for further information.

(Top row) City Councilor Cathy Ann Viveiros prepares some of the 1,000 cards to send. (Top row, center) Al Lima of Save Our Neighborhoods chats with Gloria Bates of Osterville who found out about the event on-line. (Top row, right) Bryson Dean of Somerset works with Jeff Carpenter of Arts United Fall River on one of the banners. (Middle row, left and center) Curry College students Colette LaRue and Robin Waldman work on the project before joining their classmates for a group photo. (Middle row, right) Jonathan Almeida and Devin Sneed of YouthBuild work on their cards. (Bottom row, left) Durfee High School student Priscilla Vega, YouthBuild student Jay Almas, and YouthBuild student Cory Berard work together on their cards. (Bottom row, center) Jeff Carpenter looks at some of the pop-up cards that participants created as Cecelia Junier of Dartmouth packs them into a box for shipment.