Indy Serves Goes to Washington D.C.

On Saturday, Nov. 23, Indy Serves went to Franklin Park, D.C. and handed out food, clothes and hygiene bags to the homeless. 

Indy Serves is a group of students who spend the weekends donating their time to help people in need. They have already started helping people in the greater D.C. Metro area.  Leaders Dara Elbaum, a junior, and Anthony Paganin, a freshman, recruited a group of 25 students to help out. 

Indy Serves was started by Elbaum and Paganin. They participated in a service group over the summer and wanted to bring it to Independence. Paganin explained, “I was invited to join Rock Ridge and Briar Woods to go to a DC trip to help the homeless, and we wanted to incorporate that into our school, so we found a sponsor and started the club.” They found a sponsor, Dr. VonEnde Coleman, who has helped them spread the word and find service projects. 

After getting a group of Independence students together, the next task was finding a project to start off the new school year. Elbaum and Paganin immediately thought of Franklin Park, D.C. since they had gone on a similar trip over the summer. Franklin Park was the perfect place due to the fact that they have a service group come on most weekends to give to the homeless. 

As soon as they talked to Dr. Coleman and made sure they could do the service project in D.C., the preparations started. “We had a meeting prior, and we were discussing what everyone should bring. It was required that everyone bring at least five sandwiches. We also made little hygiene bags with soap, shampoos and other stuff like that. Lastly, we had to find a route to take on the Metro and choose a spot,” said Paganin. 

Once in D.C., Indy Serves got right to work. “There was already a line around the corner,” Elbaum exclaimed. It was a very successful day for the service group. They gave away around 60 items that they brought with them. Elbaum and Paganin were thrilled that they got to help everyone in the area. “After we gave away things to everyone in line, we went around and made sure everyone in the area we were located was served and got what they needed,” Elbaum said. 

Elbaum and Paganin hope that their accomplishments will bring new members. Elbaum said, “Not only did we serve all those people in need, but we also spread more awareness. D.C. is not far, and we were just in one location. Imagine how many people we could help if a trip like that happens regularly. ” 

D.C. was just the first of many service trips that Indy Serves has planned. Next time, they hope to improve and give to more people in need. “The more members we get the better. We could serve a lot of people and get more supplies,” said Paganin. They are going to spread the word and find more locations in need of their help.