Religious Education: K-8

Youth Program Activities

sponsored by BFM's youth program ("First day school")

BFM kids help bury compost and visit with rescue animals at Dream Catcher meadows

Susan Rich taught us about restorative agriculture, biodynamic farming, and in ground composting with hands-on experiences - touching the newly formed soil, holding earthworms and toads, feeding and walking with the rescue animals, and enjoying mindfulness while forest bathing. All in an afternoon at Susan's Dream Catcher Meadows farm. What a lovely fall day for children and adults from Bethesda Friends Meeting!

walk in the forest with rescue goats.

BFM children have work day at Comfort Cases

First Day School Comfort Cases Donation Drive

Thank you to BFM families and the BFM community for making the Comfort Cases Donation Drive such an overwhelming success!

In June 2021, FDS children hosted Comfort Cases founder, Rob Scheer, on Zoom after Meeting to kick off the drive. Rob’s story of how he grew up in the foster care system and went on to start the local nonprofit, Comfort Cases, was inspiring. Comfort Cases works to: “make a difference in the life of a child in foster care” by providing a new backpack with a cozy new pair of pajamas, a stuffed animal to hug, a blanket, a toothbrush and other personal care items as well as a new duffel bag to each child who is entering the foster care system (so they don’t have to bring their belongings in a garbage bag).

Ten First Day School families helped with picking up donations, making announcements and writing thank you notes.
More than 30 families from BFM donated items to the drive.
We delivered more than 300 items to Comfort Cases. This included more than 150 backpacks, 75 fleece blankets, 40 pairs of pajamas and many journals and toiletries!
And this doesn’t even include the items that BFM members sent directly to Comfort Cases!

Many BFM members donated to Comfort Cases, both through the monthly Social Concerns box (which collected over $750) and directly to the organization.

We were fortunate to have the opportunity in early July for six youth and four adults from BFM to participate in a Volunteer Day at Comfort Cases in Rockville (see photo).
Rob Scheer greeted us and talked about the history of the mission and organization, and we had a chance to fill up lots of backpacks and help with other important tasks at their warehouse.
Our donation drive couldn’t have happened without the generous involvement of First Day School families and BFM members and attenders.

Toy Drive for A Wider Circle's Holiday Program

BFM's youth sponsored a toy drive for A Wider Circle's Holiday Program in December 2020 and 2021.

BFM elves picked up new, unwrapped toys during December. The toys were distributed to families who visited A Wider Circle during the month of December, as well as through A Wider Circle's partnership with the DC Housing Authority. (This partnership seeks to provide gifts to over 10,000 children living in public housing in Washington, DC.)
Here is a photo of two elves who were collecting toy donations. The BFM students have really stepped up to help keep "giving to others" the focus during 2020.

Food drive for Manna Foods in Gaithersburg, MD.

Students from BFM's First Day School
organize a food drive.

In early July 2020, the BFM students and their families visited Manna Food Center and dropped off about 660 pounds of donations that they collected from BFM friends and families.

Annual Walk-a-thon for Interfaith Works homeless program

Each November, BFM's Religious Education program (First Day School) raises money for the Interfaith Works Help the Homeless program.

The children and families walk in Bethesda, holding signs and banners high. Generous donations from those who walk and those who join in spirit add to Interfaith Works' overall donations!

In February, 2020, the First Day School children stitched this panel and submitted it to the 25 Million Stitches Project.

The project invited people around the world to submit hand-stitched panels with each stitch representing one of the world's 25 million refugees.
The year-long project collected over 1,150 panels as of early 2020, with 13 million stitches counted.
The final installation had a planned opening in Sacramento, California on June 20, 2020, World Refugee Day, circumstances permitting.