On Saturday, Oct. 14th, Wesleyan Servant Leaders hosted Nature Day 2017 for children from the Lane Center's Aunt Maggie's Kitchen Table program. The children were led through Wesleyan's Arboretum, 104 acres of mixed pine and hardwood forest, where they learned about birds, bones and bugs; roasted marshmallows and sang traditional folk songs.
For more than fifteen years, Aunt Maggie’s Kitchen Table (AMKT) has provided support to the families of Anthony Homes, Macon Housing Authority’s largest federally funded community. These families, most headed by a single mother or grandmother and living well below the poverty line, have benefited from tutoring and after school snacks, cultural programs, classes for parents, a neighborhood garden, community meals and celebrations. All these services have been made possible by a dedicated and compassionate group of Wesleyan students, faculty, staff, community volunteers, and generous donors.
Located in a house on Wesleyan's campus, AMKT provides a tranquil location, complete with large rooms for individual and group work, substantial grounds for outside activities, and a carport for pottery and art projects. Wesleyan provides transportation to campus every Saturday. Currently, thirty-six children are registered to attend Saturday School at AMKT. Pre- and post-test indicators have already shown an increase in knowledge and positive attitudes on topics such as drug awareness, safety, and self-esteem.
The Lane Center for Service and Leadership and its work with Aunt Maggie’s Kitchen Table is the visible expression of Wesleyan’s mission to teach young women to study, analyze, think, understand, love, care, and use all that is within them to serve others.
Learn more about Aunt Maggie's Kitchen Table and the Lane Center here
Learn more about Wesleyan's Arboretum here