Main Line Au Pairs Volunteer

In many ways, philanthropy is a uniquely American custom; one that a group of au pairs from around the world is readily accepting as their own. The au pairs, together representing the countries of Germany, Austria, Sweden, France, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, are currently living with American families in Wayne, Devon, Berwyn, Paoli, Malvern and Media as part of Cultural Care Au Pair's intercultural childcare exchange program.

This Saturday morning, the au pairs volunteered at Cradles to Crayons in Conshohocken.

According to the organization, “Cradles to Crayons (C2C) strives to provide children up to age 12 living in homeless and low-income situations with the essentials they need to feel safe, warm, ready to learn, and valued. Meanwhile, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Philadelphia has the highest poverty rate among the nation's ten largest cities. Nearly one in four Philadelphians, including 130,000 children, live in poverty."

Thanks to the generosity of their host families, most au pairs brought in bags of clothes, toys, and books that they did not need any more. After a short introduction from Sarah Busbey, the volunteer coordinator at C2C, the au pairs were sorting and packing clothes by gender and age group.

"One of my au pairs had the idea to use one of our monthly meetings to do something good, to give back and volunteer, that is why we were here today," says Helena Malarkey, Local Childcare Coordinator for CCAP.

"Even though Cultural Care Au Pair is already striving to make a difference in the lives of children in the US, and overseas, through our very own charitable program “Kids First”, we thought it would be great to do something on a local level," she said.