Et cetera : FEMA Corps Spruce 7 Joins 1200 Volunteers at Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival

Alex "Mickey" Bowman served at the Main St Creates section helping kids with fun-filled activities

By Mary Thao

On April 20 & 21, 2013, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) FEMA Corps Spruce 7 team volunteered with the Downtown Fort Worth Initiative, Inc.’s annual Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival in Fort Worth, Texas. The Main St. Arts Festival is a four day event organized primarily by volunteers with the goal of “providing a pathway for foundation grants, philanthropic donations and other contributions to help fund charitable, educational and public-purpose Downtown projects.”

Spruce 7 contributed to this event by manning two water stations refilling water bottles, picking up litter along the stretch of Main Street and branching streets, handing out over 100 festival informational booklets, assisting at the information table, restocking over 100 pounds of ice, manning one soda booth, assisting three children’s activity tents, and sitting in for 18 artists as artist hosts while artists took short breaks.

This was a great opportunity for Spruce 7 to part take. “It was awesome to see the 39 year-old event and to be a part of their 1200 volunteers,” said Spruce 7 member Amanda Malady. “I worked with little kids and I liked seeing parents take their kids to the event. It was also really neat to know all the supplies were donated.”

After their community service, Spruce 7 had the chance to explore the event as attendees. It was a powerful all-around experience of the Main St. Arts Festival. “I love the fact that most of the bands were local bands,” said Malady.