Well this is it. Everyone has returned and is back in school mode. Eight trips, with around 100 students total, traveled nearly 12,000 miles across the country to help people during their spring break. This would not have been possible without the support of everyone in the community. ASB raised over $15,000 in the span of three months to cover the expenses.
Pictures will follow soon so make sure you check them out here.
Thank you for following along and your support!!
ASB 2010 signing off.
Showing posts with label -2010 Spring Trips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label -2010 Spring Trips. Show all posts
Twin Cities - It's something unpredictable...
But in the end, it's right.
Written by Sarah and Amy
With sore muscles and tired eyes, the group took off for Sharing and Caring Hands for a second day of fun in the sun (not) with the kids.
The second we walked through the doors, the children were already waiting for us with hugs and too much energy.
For the first half of the morning, we were outside with the kids. I think the babies multiplied overnight.
A couple hours later, it began to rain, forcing us into the building for the rest of the afternoon. Armed with crayons and books, we entertained the children before taking a break for lunch.
The last few minutes of lunch were used to prepare for an Easter Egg hunt. Asking the kids to wait in line before the hunt was beyond difficult- they were so eager! After the hunt, the children settled down to eat their candy and listen to an Easter story.
All too soon, it was time to say goodbye. It was very disheartening to leave the kids after learning so much about them. They were disappointed when we told them we wouldn't be back on Monday. However exhausting the experience may have been, it's still upsetting that we won't be returning.
We hopped in the car for a Glee jam session before heading to Breaking Free for our final activity. A few teenagers showed up to decorate frames and eat Easter candy.
During the activity, Sarah told Mackenzie, "You have got the ugliest toes I think I've ever seen…" Carly concluded it was just more proof of how close we've become.
Mackenzie showing off how dashing he looks in the hair net while at Feed My Starving Children.
After the frames were painted and feet were insulted, Starbuck's was the only thing on our mind. We got our caffeine fix and used their restrooms to get dressed up for the first time this week!
We spent a few hours wandering around University of Minnesota's campus. The architecture and art were pretty impressive, but the highlight of the afternoon was finding a University of Minnesota flag to bring home as a souvenir.
To celebrate Michelle's 21st birthday, we went to dinner at Pazzaluna in St. Paul for fantastic Italian food. We entertained ourselves during dinner by practicing seductive stares at one another and planning our post spring break get-togethers.
For dessert, Michelle blew out the candle on her crème brûlée while we sang happy birthday.
We ended the night like every other night, at Wal-Mart. The rest of the night will be devoted to packing, cleaning the house at Dunrovin, and catching a few hours of sleep before heading for home tomorrow morning.
We accomplished so much this week in the Twin Cities and will leave knowing the work we've done will change the lives of the people we interacted with for a long time. Seeing the faces on the children today during the Easter Egg Hunt was a memory we will never forget and receiving their hugs as we left Mary's Place is a feeling that will reside with us forever. It is so amazing to think about all the good work we have done in the last 5 days and how much of a difference each of us has made in a community.
At dinner tonight, it was obvious how tight our group has grown and how we already begun to plan nights to hang out together again and relive our inside jokes ("Hello tumbleweed," "Go Diva" and "Don't be ghetto") back in Columbia. It is astonishing how we can go into this adventure not knowing much about anyone in the group, or think we know more than we do, but leave gaining eight friends we know really well and truly love.
The nine of us will never forget this amazing opportunity and influential experience. This trip has been the time of our lives.
Dallas -- Tourist Day
After five days of volunteering around Dallas we took today off to tour the city. We began our day by taking the DART, the local metro system, to the Sixth Floor Museum. The Sixth Floor Museum is located at Dealey Plaza where JFK was assassinated in 1963. At the museum we followed an audio tour which focused on JFK’s presidency, the assassination, and his legacy. It was a very emotional experience but definitely a part of history that we did not want to miss out on.
When we had completed our tour of the Sixth Floor Museum we headed to the Dallas Zoo for lunch and the afternoon. At the zoo we saw a variety of animals such as giraffes, elephants, spider monkeys, and albino crocodiles. After walking around the zoo on foot for a few hours we headed to the monorail for a “safari tour” of the zoo. The safari tour allowed us to see habitats at the zoo that we could not have reached by foot.
After our safari tour we departed the zoo and headed to the West End district of downtown Dallas for a final dinner at Dick’s Last Resort. The concept of this restaurant is anything but traditional. Basically customers dine there to have the wait staff poke fun at them in a laid back atmosphere. We had a lot of fun there, but it is definitely not a restaurant for those that are easily offended.
We headed back to our home to clean out our van and pack up our things so that we can depart for Missouri bright and early in the morning. We cannot express in words the amount that we have learned this week and the appreciation that we have gained for those in our lives. We would like to thank all of our family and friends who have helped to make this week possible and cannot wait to share our experiences with you as soon as we can.
When we had completed our tour of the Sixth Floor Museum we headed to the Dallas Zoo for lunch and the afternoon. At the zoo we saw a variety of animals such as giraffes, elephants, spider monkeys, and albino crocodiles. After walking around the zoo on foot for a few hours we headed to the monorail for a “safari tour” of the zoo. The safari tour allowed us to see habitats at the zoo that we could not have reached by foot.
After our safari tour we departed the zoo and headed to the West End district of downtown Dallas for a final dinner at Dick’s Last Resort. The concept of this restaurant is anything but traditional. Basically customers dine there to have the wait staff poke fun at them in a laid back atmosphere. We had a lot of fun there, but it is definitely not a restaurant for those that are easily offended.
We headed back to our home to clean out our van and pack up our things so that we can depart for Missouri bright and early in the morning. We cannot express in words the amount that we have learned this week and the appreciation that we have gained for those in our lives. We would like to thank all of our family and friends who have helped to make this week possible and cannot wait to share our experiences with you as soon as we can.
New Orleans- Recovery
Hello again readers,
Since the last blog we completed our volunteer work at the Satchmo housing center. The houses look great with the new paint and we all came home with a healthy dose of "Glad Yellow" all over our skin and clothes. On our last day we did a great deal of landscaping work in the lot behind the apartment complex. We cleared weeds and ivy that had been unattended to since Katrina. Five years later, you can imagine a scene similar to "Jumanji." Our Irish team leader, Sean, was sad to hear the Missouri fight song for the last time before we left.
We spent our evening out for ice cream at "Creole Creamery" with a group of students from the University of Wisconsin. Not satisfied with a snack that was only 1,000 calories, the Mizzou students headed to the French Quarter for more beignets at Cafe du Monde (luckily open 24 hrs a day). So that was a nice way to round out another 10,000 calorie day in the Big Easy. With our bellies full, we spent the next hour or so wandering the Quarter then headed back to the apartment.
Friday morning we woke early, even though it was our day off. We took the trolley and headed straight to the National WWII Museum just west of the French Quarter. For the history buffs on the trip, it was definitely a highlight! They had the original copy of President Roosevelt's national address he gave on December 9, 1941. They had everything from German lugers and enigmas, to propaganda posters. We were even lucky enough to hear stories from a D-Day veteran of the 101st Airborne Division who dropped into Sainte Mere-Eglise at just 19 yrs old. He playfully told us, "We didn't go to war for country or honor, we went for wine and women. We couldn't wait to get to Paris!" After our tour of the main museum, we headed across the street to the new Victory Theater to see the documentary "Beyond Boundaries" by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. It was unbelievable. That museum/movie experience alone made the 13 hr drive totally worth it.
We grabbed lunch in the quarter and hit the shops one last time. Some of us headed back to the museum to see parts we missed when we rushed to make it in time for our movie.
Next we headed west to Audobon park to take in every last sight of the live oaks across from Tulane University. After a two mile lap around the trail, we headed to Camilia's Grill for some very healthy burgers and fries. We of course needed dessert and stopped into Coldstone next door.
We made it back to the apartment with full bellies and a lot of packing to do. Nobody is really looking forward to our 13 hr journey beginning at 5am tomorrow, but at least we will finally have an opportunity to sleep!
Thanks to all who have been keeping up with our trips this week! And a special thanks to all the worried mothers who have been praying for our safety while staying in a not-so-nice part of central city!
Since the last blog we completed our volunteer work at the Satchmo housing center. The houses look great with the new paint and we all came home with a healthy dose of "Glad Yellow" all over our skin and clothes. On our last day we did a great deal of landscaping work in the lot behind the apartment complex. We cleared weeds and ivy that had been unattended to since Katrina. Five years later, you can imagine a scene similar to "Jumanji." Our Irish team leader, Sean, was sad to hear the Missouri fight song for the last time before we left.
We spent our evening out for ice cream at "Creole Creamery" with a group of students from the University of Wisconsin. Not satisfied with a snack that was only 1,000 calories, the Mizzou students headed to the French Quarter for more beignets at Cafe du Monde (luckily open 24 hrs a day). So that was a nice way to round out another 10,000 calorie day in the Big Easy. With our bellies full, we spent the next hour or so wandering the Quarter then headed back to the apartment.
Friday morning we woke early, even though it was our day off. We took the trolley and headed straight to the National WWII Museum just west of the French Quarter. For the history buffs on the trip, it was definitely a highlight! They had the original copy of President Roosevelt's national address he gave on December 9, 1941. They had everything from German lugers and enigmas, to propaganda posters. We were even lucky enough to hear stories from a D-Day veteran of the 101st Airborne Division who dropped into Sainte Mere-Eglise at just 19 yrs old. He playfully told us, "We didn't go to war for country or honor, we went for wine and women. We couldn't wait to get to Paris!" After our tour of the main museum, we headed across the street to the new Victory Theater to see the documentary "Beyond Boundaries" by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. It was unbelievable. That museum/movie experience alone made the 13 hr drive totally worth it.
We grabbed lunch in the quarter and hit the shops one last time. Some of us headed back to the museum to see parts we missed when we rushed to make it in time for our movie.
Next we headed west to Audobon park to take in every last sight of the live oaks across from Tulane University. After a two mile lap around the trail, we headed to Camilia's Grill for some very healthy burgers and fries. We of course needed dessert and stopped into Coldstone next door.
We made it back to the apartment with full bellies and a lot of packing to do. Nobody is really looking forward to our 13 hr journey beginning at 5am tomorrow, but at least we will finally have an opportunity to sleep!
Thanks to all who have been keeping up with our trips this week! And a special thanks to all the worried mothers who have been praying for our safety while staying in a not-so-nice part of central city!
Atlanta-Homelessness and Poverty
Today we geared up for last day of service, sleeping in till the very last possible minute that we could. This week was absolutely amazing but was very tiring at the same time. Half of our group went to Café 458 and the other went to the EDGE. The Café 548 group had a great time! We were welcomed by Linda, who was a stern but fun, personable volunteer. She kept us on track with grilled chicken and fried pork chops! At the end of our shift the head of Café 458 presented our group with a certificate of appreciation, goodie bags, and hugs! We left feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.
We then went downtown to check out the gargantuan Bank of America building and get some lunch. As we were walking downtown a man drove by and yelled MIZ at us! We replied with the appropriate response. The other group, at the EDGE, had a pretty slow day we were told, Laureen got to tan while walking around and her and Brett had a great heart to heart with a man named Larry and were told his dream of discovering diamonds. When they weren't chatting it up with the people at the EDGE they also were able to help sort the summer clothes, do some data entry, and some much needed organizing around the building.
After we regrouped at the house, we all passed out for some much needed R&R. Once we were up we made a valiant attempt to go to a community BBQ we had been told about but they had more grills than people were actually there so we didn't end up staying long. We instead decided to go down the street to the Atlanta city fair! This was also somewhat of a disappointment. It was in a parking lot about the size of half of a football field if that and the ride choices were either spinning rides, spinning rides while being spun two different directions, or spinning rides that spun faster than the spinning rides that spin two different directions. After we had queezed ourselves out, rocked out to Justin Bieber in the fun house, and got judged by a cop for eating a large bag of cotton candy and funnel cake, we decided it was time to go back to our little home and feast upon the leftovers we had. So now as we gorge ourselves one last time before we bid ado to the ATL, we are writing one last time to say goodbye and that we had a blast leaving our mark on the city of Atlanta!
Deuces and Skookums from the ATL
We then went downtown to check out the gargantuan Bank of America building and get some lunch. As we were walking downtown a man drove by and yelled MIZ at us! We replied with the appropriate response. The other group, at the EDGE, had a pretty slow day we were told, Laureen got to tan while walking around and her and Brett had a great heart to heart with a man named Larry and were told his dream of discovering diamonds. When they weren't chatting it up with the people at the EDGE they also were able to help sort the summer clothes, do some data entry, and some much needed organizing around the building.
After we regrouped at the house, we all passed out for some much needed R&R. Once we were up we made a valiant attempt to go to a community BBQ we had been told about but they had more grills than people were actually there so we didn't end up staying long. We instead decided to go down the street to the Atlanta city fair! This was also somewhat of a disappointment. It was in a parking lot about the size of half of a football field if that and the ride choices were either spinning rides, spinning rides while being spun two different directions, or spinning rides that spun faster than the spinning rides that spin two different directions. After we had queezed ourselves out, rocked out to Justin Bieber in the fun house, and got judged by a cop for eating a large bag of cotton candy and funnel cake, we decided it was time to go back to our little home and feast upon the leftovers we had. So now as we gorge ourselves one last time before we bid ado to the ATL, we are writing one last time to say goodbye and that we had a blast leaving our mark on the city of Atlanta!
Deuces and Skookums from the ATL
Atlanta- Homelessness and Poverty
Today was awesome! We all stayed together o go volunteer at the Atlanta Community Food Bank. We were first orientated, and then went to the back of the warehouse where we were broken up into groups with different tasks. Some people were chosen to sort food by deciding if it was O.K. to pack certain foods or not. It was almost enough power to overwhelm them. This job was also particularly hard because we had to throw things like chocolate! It was so hard to let go. Others were on the scales to weigh the boxes and a couple people were in charge of sorting the boxes. We rocked it out the first 3 hour shift! We packed enough food to feed over 5,000 people! We then took a lunch break on the campus of Georgia Tech and returned to the food bank for our second shift. The second shift went even better than the first! We packed enough food to feed over 7,000 people bringing us to a total day's work of 12,000 meals!
After we left the food bank, we went to the Martin Luther King Jr. museum and historical site. There, we were able to see Dr. King's burial site as well as the house he grew up in! On a side note, did you know his house is up for rent? If you're interested I'll be looking for roommates for grad school at Georgia tech! Once we left there, we went to the biggest mall in Atlanta. It was so big each car actually ended up in completely separate buildings. One group went to the normal mall for the average person and the other group went to the mall with stores very strange to Max, like Saks of 5th Avenue. They also went to Gucci to find a $500 pair of shorts (with built in underwear). After we did some serious pocket book damage (not at Gucci) we headed back to the house to enjoy an excellent taco feast prepared by mom and dad (Max and Cole). On another side note, we are now calling ourselves Jon and Kate Plus 8.
After dinner we all got dressed and decided to find a decent 18+ dance club where could to get our groove on! This turned out to be a disappointment. The first place we tried told us it was 18+ but was actually 21+so we were kicked out, after that it just kept going downhill….way down hill. So far we ended up hitting rock bottom and starting digging. What does this mean? We ended up in Greek town at Georgia Tech to see what their night life was like. We were mostly shunned by the southern frat bros due to our awkward quirkiness…or maybe it was the minivan. Needless to say, we ended up in the library. We then ventured back home and our now updating you all on our terrific adventures! We hear the "party of the year" is supposed to be going down tomorrow at a place called "The Ridge" but no one not even Google can find it. Our next choice will be dollar night at the Atlanta City Fair! Stay tuned….
Skookums from the ATL
After we left the food bank, we went to the Martin Luther King Jr. museum and historical site. There, we were able to see Dr. King's burial site as well as the house he grew up in! On a side note, did you know his house is up for rent? If you're interested I'll be looking for roommates for grad school at Georgia tech! Once we left there, we went to the biggest mall in Atlanta. It was so big each car actually ended up in completely separate buildings. One group went to the normal mall for the average person and the other group went to the mall with stores very strange to Max, like Saks of 5th Avenue. They also went to Gucci to find a $500 pair of shorts (with built in underwear). After we did some serious pocket book damage (not at Gucci) we headed back to the house to enjoy an excellent taco feast prepared by mom and dad (Max and Cole). On another side note, we are now calling ourselves Jon and Kate Plus 8.
After dinner we all got dressed and decided to find a decent 18+ dance club where could to get our groove on! This turned out to be a disappointment. The first place we tried told us it was 18+ but was actually 21+so we were kicked out, after that it just kept going downhill….way down hill. So far we ended up hitting rock bottom and starting digging. What does this mean? We ended up in Greek town at Georgia Tech to see what their night life was like. We were mostly shunned by the southern frat bros due to our awkward quirkiness…or maybe it was the minivan. Needless to say, we ended up in the library. We then ventured back home and our now updating you all on our terrific adventures! We hear the "party of the year" is supposed to be going down tomorrow at a place called "The Ridge" but no one not even Google can find it. Our next choice will be dollar night at the Atlanta City Fair! Stay tuned….
Skookums from the ATL
Alabama-HIV/AIDS
As I write this blog post we're impatiently waiting for the sealant to dry on our van's new windshield. Our group has been pretty unlucky with the vans this week. In one day we cracked the windshield, rear-ended into a gate, and locked the key in the car. Luckily, we've all become such good friends that even an hour waiting on the side of the road for AAA is full of laughter. Also, (to the parents and ASB exec reading) we promise to make it home in one piece. Once we get on our way this morning we're heading to the AIDS Alabama main office. They're very kindly hosting breakfast for us to thank us for our hard work.
We're also very proud of the work we did for their organization. In just two days we planted a garden, mulched their existing gardens, sealed a giant gazebo, painted two beautiful murals, and decorated bird feeders and flower pots with the residents. Yesterday we helped AIDS Alabama promote their Dining Out For Life event by hitting up 3 different neighborhoods and putting posters and fliers up in shops. It was a great way to get a taste of life in Birmingham while also working for a cause we've all become so passionate about. This afternoon after our "Snack Attack" with AIDS Alabama we'll be wrapping up our volunteer work with them by going to the wildlife preservation with some of the Jasper House residents. After that, we have the rest of the day for exploring. We're planning on going to the Civil Rights Museum and the Vulcan statue. Then, at the bros' request, we're driving to Tuscaloosa to visit the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) where we'll eat dinner and see how 'Bama students live.
This week has been fulfilling for us. I think everyone can agree with me when I say that we know that the work we've done here has made a positive sufferance in the lives of those suffering with AIDS as well as the people who have made it their job to serve them. Cleaning out the food pantry will make it easier for Birmingham AIDS Outreach to fulfill basic needs for theit clients and passing out promotional information will generate more money for AIDS Alabama to increase their HIV prevention education services in the area, but no one can deny that the most fulfilling moments of this week were when we were interacting with the organizations' clients who were delighted and so very thankful that we spent our free time beautifying their home.
This experience has also been rewarding for us in a personal way. While we began to educate ourselves on HIV/AIDS during our pre-trip meetigs, being here in the heart of America's growing problem with AIDS and hearing from experts about the devastating effects of the disease has been a powerful learning experience. Each of us is now equipped with the information we need to protect ourselves from sexually transmitted diseases and have vowed to educate our family and friends as well.
The best part of this trip, we agree, is the 10 new best friends we've all made. An experience like this bonds us together in a relationship that we can never share with anyone else. While I'm sure we're all eager to sleep in our own beds and see our families and loved ones on Easter, the ride home tomorrow will definitely be bittersweet...and hopefully accident free!
'Bama love.
--
Erin O'Neil
erin.oneil@mail.mizzou.edu
(773)562-0611
We're also very proud of the work we did for their organization. In just two days we planted a garden, mulched their existing gardens, sealed a giant gazebo, painted two beautiful murals, and decorated bird feeders and flower pots with the residents. Yesterday we helped AIDS Alabama promote their Dining Out For Life event by hitting up 3 different neighborhoods and putting posters and fliers up in shops. It was a great way to get a taste of life in Birmingham while also working for a cause we've all become so passionate about. This afternoon after our "Snack Attack" with AIDS Alabama we'll be wrapping up our volunteer work with them by going to the wildlife preservation with some of the Jasper House residents. After that, we have the rest of the day for exploring. We're planning on going to the Civil Rights Museum and the Vulcan statue. Then, at the bros' request, we're driving to Tuscaloosa to visit the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) where we'll eat dinner and see how 'Bama students live.
This week has been fulfilling for us. I think everyone can agree with me when I say that we know that the work we've done here has made a positive sufferance in the lives of those suffering with AIDS as well as the people who have made it their job to serve them. Cleaning out the food pantry will make it easier for Birmingham AIDS Outreach to fulfill basic needs for theit clients and passing out promotional information will generate more money for AIDS Alabama to increase their HIV prevention education services in the area, but no one can deny that the most fulfilling moments of this week were when we were interacting with the organizations' clients who were delighted and so very thankful that we spent our free time beautifying their home.
This experience has also been rewarding for us in a personal way. While we began to educate ourselves on HIV/AIDS during our pre-trip meetigs, being here in the heart of America's growing problem with AIDS and hearing from experts about the devastating effects of the disease has been a powerful learning experience. Each of us is now equipped with the information we need to protect ourselves from sexually transmitted diseases and have vowed to educate our family and friends as well.
The best part of this trip, we agree, is the 10 new best friends we've all made. An experience like this bonds us together in a relationship that we can never share with anyone else. While I'm sure we're all eager to sleep in our own beds and see our families and loved ones on Easter, the ride home tomorrow will definitely be bittersweet...and hopefully accident free!
'Bama love.
--
Erin O'Neil
erin.oneil@mail.mizzou.edu
(773)562-0611
Dallas -- Cakes, Ducks and Goodbyes
[Entry for Thursday, April 1]
After working with the generous organizations that have allowed us to serve the Dallas community all week, we said good bye as we worked our last day of community service at the Resource Center. It was a similar shift to the one that our team served yesterday, with a few new things to do and a few of our members performing different tasks. We showed up in the morning to prepare the dining room for the lunch crowd, and some of us made creatively decorated posters with uplifting and inspirational quotes used to commemorate National Volunteer Appreciation Week. When we left yesterday afternoon, we made the last-minute decision to come back today and help out some more. The main cook of the kitchen, Doris, was especially glad and promised to bake us a cake as a thank you for our return visit. Doris made good on that offer with an amazing chocolate dish.
It was wonderful walking in to the Resource Center dining room and kitchen this morning while being greeted warmly by Doris and the volunteer coordinator, Deborah. We again chatted it up and had a great time getting to know great people who come from such a wide variety of backgrounds. So many of the individuals whom we have gotten to know and love in these last few days have become our friends in Dallas, and they really have done a great job at making us feel welcome.
Working for these organizations has really been quite the experience. It has been a heart-touching one for all of us. While working hard yesterday, Kate thought to herself about how her feet were hurting and she wanted a Diet Coke. A simple complaint, she realized, when she thought about all of the people around her. Reflections like this really have taught us that while some days are rough, and all days have rough parts within them, our days are really just little details that make up the great lives that we really do have. We love the work we've done this week, and the amazing people whom we've met and what they've taught us. Many of the clients and a few of our fellow workers asked with hope in their eyes if we'd be coming back next year. We might not have to wait that long, because there's a summer internship with the Resource Center that sparked interest in a couple of our team members.
After that rewarding day of service, we enjoyed more of beautiful and exciting Dallas. Kristina, Alex, and Ashley went on a bike ride around the lake and a few of us took a stroll to feed the ducks and talk with Dallas citizens. It really was another wonderful day with perfect weather. We can't wait to enjoy our day of being tourists tomorrow at The Sixth Floor Museum and the Dallas Zoo!
If you'd like to learn more about the amazing organizations with which we've worked, or make a donation to them, please visit http://rodallas.org and http://resourcecenterdallas.org
After working with the generous organizations that have allowed us to serve the Dallas community all week, we said good bye as we worked our last day of community service at the Resource Center. It was a similar shift to the one that our team served yesterday, with a few new things to do and a few of our members performing different tasks. We showed up in the morning to prepare the dining room for the lunch crowd, and some of us made creatively decorated posters with uplifting and inspirational quotes used to commemorate National Volunteer Appreciation Week. When we left yesterday afternoon, we made the last-minute decision to come back today and help out some more. The main cook of the kitchen, Doris, was especially glad and promised to bake us a cake as a thank you for our return visit. Doris made good on that offer with an amazing chocolate dish.
It was wonderful walking in to the Resource Center dining room and kitchen this morning while being greeted warmly by Doris and the volunteer coordinator, Deborah. We again chatted it up and had a great time getting to know great people who come from such a wide variety of backgrounds. So many of the individuals whom we have gotten to know and love in these last few days have become our friends in Dallas, and they really have done a great job at making us feel welcome.
Working for these organizations has really been quite the experience. It has been a heart-touching one for all of us. While working hard yesterday, Kate thought to herself about how her feet were hurting and she wanted a Diet Coke. A simple complaint, she realized, when she thought about all of the people around her. Reflections like this really have taught us that while some days are rough, and all days have rough parts within them, our days are really just little details that make up the great lives that we really do have. We love the work we've done this week, and the amazing people whom we've met and what they've taught us. Many of the clients and a few of our fellow workers asked with hope in their eyes if we'd be coming back next year. We might not have to wait that long, because there's a summer internship with the Resource Center that sparked interest in a couple of our team members.
After that rewarding day of service, we enjoyed more of beautiful and exciting Dallas. Kristina, Alex, and Ashley went on a bike ride around the lake and a few of us took a stroll to feed the ducks and talk with Dallas citizens. It really was another wonderful day with perfect weather. We can't wait to enjoy our day of being tourists tomorrow at The Sixth Floor Museum and the Dallas Zoo!
If you'd like to learn more about the amazing organizations with which we've worked, or make a donation to them, please visit http://rodallas.org and http://resourcecenterdallas.org
Atlanta-Homelessness and Poverty
Yesterday was business as usual for the most part. We broke back up into our two groups, half of us going to the EDGE and the other half going to the children's shelter. The group that went to the children's shelter then we separated into three groups; we had the shredder headers (Helena and Maddy), the M&M brothers (Max and I), and a solitary group of one: Muscles (Laureen). The shredder headers were tasked with what else, shredding. Muscles, Max, and I were tasked with reorganizing a closet. We tackled these tasks with intense precision, took a walk down memory lane, and even got to end the day early enough to go cook some awesome twice baked potatoes! The daycare group had a great learning experience with what tough love means. Ms. Betty taught us all how to teach an infant to mind its business and forcefully keep them in line. They watched the kids while the weekly staff meeting went on, and had a great time on the playground making sure the kids didn't burn the place down. Overall it was a pretty straightforward average day.
The real excitement for us came during our lunch break! We went back to Piedmont Park hoping to enjoy a nice lakeside lunch on a dock. That's when company came. A couple of Canadian geese decided to invite themselves to the luncheon. We tried to scare them away but the geese were relentless with their strategy of attack. It was then that the piece of bread went flying towards them. Someone had thrown a precious piece of food that would make the geese become more aggressive. This is now known as our version of "the shot heard round the park" because no one knows who tossed the bread but would be the event that would set the course for the rest of the lunch break. Cole very loudly and wildly began to flock towards the geese with his body hovering over them as if to say, "I'm bigger than you." Max, the more emotional person in the group was not pleased with Cole's macho behavior and then began to apologize to unwelcomed feathered enemies. After we had finished eating, we thought we had thwarted the geese, however, while throwing a Frisbee around, the geese regrouped and attacked again. This time they were squawking and flailing their wings like they were trying to attract mates. They even chased the Frisbee. Again, Cole got up their grill and chased them off again, Max trailing behind Cole with words of encouragement and more apologies for Cole's aggressive behavior towards them. I guess they appreciated the gesture because they didn't come back again.
That night, we got to babysit a few kids at the church near us while their parents were part of a special parenting course offered through the church. We served them dinner and colored. We also took them outside. We had various toys to give them, but little did we know that the bad mitten rackets and jump ropes would, towards the end of the night, be used as weapons the little army would use to try to overtake us with and gain entry to the house we had to keep them out of or what we deemed "the no no zone." We also had a marriage! One of the little girls grabbed Laureen and Stephen, made Laureen a bouquet of weeds, and married them both right on the lawn. It was beautiful; reception to follow when we get back to Mizzou. As for now, that was our night…just another day in the life of a Mizzou ASB'er.
Xoxo Skookums from the ATL
The real excitement for us came during our lunch break! We went back to Piedmont Park hoping to enjoy a nice lakeside lunch on a dock. That's when company came. A couple of Canadian geese decided to invite themselves to the luncheon. We tried to scare them away but the geese were relentless with their strategy of attack. It was then that the piece of bread went flying towards them. Someone had thrown a precious piece of food that would make the geese become more aggressive. This is now known as our version of "the shot heard round the park" because no one knows who tossed the bread but would be the event that would set the course for the rest of the lunch break. Cole very loudly and wildly began to flock towards the geese with his body hovering over them as if to say, "I'm bigger than you." Max, the more emotional person in the group was not pleased with Cole's macho behavior and then began to apologize to unwelcomed feathered enemies. After we had finished eating, we thought we had thwarted the geese, however, while throwing a Frisbee around, the geese regrouped and attacked again. This time they were squawking and flailing their wings like they were trying to attract mates. They even chased the Frisbee. Again, Cole got up their grill and chased them off again, Max trailing behind Cole with words of encouragement and more apologies for Cole's aggressive behavior towards them. I guess they appreciated the gesture because they didn't come back again.
That night, we got to babysit a few kids at the church near us while their parents were part of a special parenting course offered through the church. We served them dinner and colored. We also took them outside. We had various toys to give them, but little did we know that the bad mitten rackets and jump ropes would, towards the end of the night, be used as weapons the little army would use to try to overtake us with and gain entry to the house we had to keep them out of or what we deemed "the no no zone." We also had a marriage! One of the little girls grabbed Laureen and Stephen, made Laureen a bouquet of weeds, and married them both right on the lawn. It was beautiful; reception to follow when we get back to Mizzou. As for now, that was our night…just another day in the life of a Mizzou ASB'er.
Xoxo Skookums from the ATL
Twin Cities - Sharing and Caring with Children
Written By: Brett Dinkins
After a great day of activities yesterday the girls decided to start this morning off with a little bit of relaxation. Sarah led in the girls in sunrise yoga overlooking the lake and St. Croix River. Though the ground was damp, they managed to have a great time and spent the day slightly less sore from the kayaking than the rest of us.
We left Dunrovin to spend our day volunteering at Sharing and Caring Hands in Minneapolis. Sharing and Caring Hands (SCH) is an organization that runs strictly on donations focused on meeting the needs of the poor and homeless. They provide three meals a day Monday through Thursday, housing, clothing, dental and health care, and many other services to those in need. Mary Jo, the founder of SCH, personally greets each person who comes to eat or request needs of any kind. Mary Jo has never missed a day of work, she has never taken a paycheck from SCH and she uses the elliptical every morning during daily meetings. Mary Jo is an amazing woman.
We spent the day bonding with kids through various activities. Many of the kids have traveled numerous times throughout their lives. An 11-year-old boy we met had lived in seven different states, one of them being Missouri. One of the things that stood out most in our minds was how quickly the kids became attached to all of us. Instantly, the kids smothered us in hugs and hi-fives, asking us how long we were staying and when we would be back. After playing numerous games of basketball, foursquare, duck-duck-goose, and leapfrog we finally called it a day. We headed over to the SCH headquarters where we met Mary Jo, watched a video about the program, and then received a tour of their entire operation including the dining area and teen center.
After a long and sweaty day of volunteering (it got up to 80 today!) we headed uptown to browse some shops before going to the Walker Art Center. There we tried to knock out a few of our scavenger hunt photos with Truman at the sculpture garden before heading in to view some contemporary art.
We stopped at Michael's and Target after the Museum to buy supplies for tomorrow. We will be holding an Easter egg hunt for the kids at Sharing and Caring Hands and a picture frame-making event with some teens from Breaking Free.
We finally made it back to Dunrovin around 9:30 where we immediately dug into all the leftovers we could find after not having eaten for 9 hours. After munching on homemade ice cream sandwiches, we took our much-needed showers and called it a night.
Julia with the Spoon and Cherry
Another beautiful day in Birmingham
Just a quick post tonight. We are huddled under a makeshift fort watching The Patriot. Forgot Heath Ledger was in this movie. Moment of silence.
Today was a gorgeous day in "B-ham," though it was HOT. There was some serious sweating going on. It was an easy day though -- no manual labor today. We bopped around Birmingham distributing flyers and posters for Dining For Life, a fundraiser for AIDS Alabama. We were taken aback at just how friendly local business owners were to us. One even gave us free bottled water before we left her studio!
After our volunteer duties, we headed to the bookstore of the University of Alabama at Birmingham to snag some swag. Most everyone got T-shirts, but I personally headed to the cafe for a much needed cup of frozen yogurt. While there, the cashier noticed the T-shirt I was wearing said Mizzou and told me that she was from St. Louis. She upgraded my small, plain froyo to a large with candy toppings, whipped cream and strawberry syrup! We have all encountered so many Mizzou fans in Birmingham. One woman downtown even stopped working in her office to catch us on the side of the street to talk about Mizzou and our work with ASB when she noticed our MU shirts! Raha seemed to get a kick out of the woman's dog.. And every other dog we've seen so far.
Tomorrow we are headed to the Civil Rights Museum and to explore the campus of U of Alabama. This week has flown by.
Just one more day!
Kristin
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
Today was a gorgeous day in "B-ham," though it was HOT. There was some serious sweating going on. It was an easy day though -- no manual labor today. We bopped around Birmingham distributing flyers and posters for Dining For Life, a fundraiser for AIDS Alabama. We were taken aback at just how friendly local business owners were to us. One even gave us free bottled water before we left her studio!
After our volunteer duties, we headed to the bookstore of the University of Alabama at Birmingham to snag some swag. Most everyone got T-shirts, but I personally headed to the cafe for a much needed cup of frozen yogurt. While there, the cashier noticed the T-shirt I was wearing said Mizzou and told me that she was from St. Louis. She upgraded my small, plain froyo to a large with candy toppings, whipped cream and strawberry syrup! We have all encountered so many Mizzou fans in Birmingham. One woman downtown even stopped working in her office to catch us on the side of the street to talk about Mizzou and our work with ASB when she noticed our MU shirts! Raha seemed to get a kick out of the woman's dog.. And every other dog we've seen so far.
Tomorrow we are headed to the Civil Rights Museum and to explore the campus of U of Alabama. This week has flown by.
Just one more day!
Kristin
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
COLORADO - Wacky Weather
Today is our last official day in Montezuma County, CO. When we went to bed, the local meteorologist predicted a chance of few scattered showers. Apparently Colorado weather is just as spastic as the Midwest, because we woke up to windy snow and some accumulation. Not to mention a freezing cabin!
We set out to meet Kathe and Mr. Kill at the Anasazi Heritage Center where we got the VIP tour. The group got to tour the curation level of the museum where artifacts not yet on display are being restored, studied for origin, and cataloged. There were rows and rows of whole pieces of pottery as well as shards—some dating back 2,000 years.
We learned that most knowledge of the ancient puebloan people comes from one family, the Wetherills, ranchers who discovered the Mesa Verde ruins. They took photographs and kept personal written records of sites.
After visiting the Heritage Center, we decided to make the one-hour trek to the Four Corners. Unfortunately for us, there is a 600 ft error in the placement of the monument and it's currently CLOSED. Twenty-two hours of driving and they closed the park on us! We still got plenty of pictures straddling the line between New Mexico and Colorado and a few trying to climb the fence into the park.
Tonight is the community dinner out at Winterhawk, where we're staying. The majority of folks we've worked with this week are expected to come out (weather permitting) as well as our hosts and individuals who have worked with Mizzou trips in the past. We've been told there are many musicians coming, so we're in for some good blue grass music. Good food and nice people, there couldn't be a better way to wrap up our trip…except maybe a little sunshine!
We set out to meet Kathe and Mr. Kill at the Anasazi Heritage Center where we got the VIP tour. The group got to tour the curation level of the museum where artifacts not yet on display are being restored, studied for origin, and cataloged. There were rows and rows of whole pieces of pottery as well as shards—some dating back 2,000 years.
We learned that most knowledge of the ancient puebloan people comes from one family, the Wetherills, ranchers who discovered the Mesa Verde ruins. They took photographs and kept personal written records of sites.
After visiting the Heritage Center, we decided to make the one-hour trek to the Four Corners. Unfortunately for us, there is a 600 ft error in the placement of the monument and it's currently CLOSED. Twenty-two hours of driving and they closed the park on us! We still got plenty of pictures straddling the line between New Mexico and Colorado and a few trying to climb the fence into the park.
Tonight is the community dinner out at Winterhawk, where we're staying. The majority of folks we've worked with this week are expected to come out (weather permitting) as well as our hosts and individuals who have worked with Mizzou trips in the past. We've been told there are many musicians coming, so we're in for some good blue grass music. Good food and nice people, there couldn't be a better way to wrap up our trip…except maybe a little sunshine!
Colorado - Utah!
Yesterday the group worked with Kathe Hays and the infamous David Kill at Painted Hand, an ancient ruin that's part of Hovenweep National Monument in Canyon of the Ancients.
In order to protect the fragile environment, they explained to us the importance of maintaining a proper, visible trail. With many massive boulders, it's easy to lose the trodden path.
We worked to build karens, a simple structure comprised of a wooden post in the center of a 24" tall cage. To make them more visually appealing and to keep them stable, we scavenged for flat rocks to fill the cages along the trail to Painted Hand.
While hiking we were able to see more ruins and even some preserved wall paintings and petroglyphs, some as old as 800 years.
After finishing the trail work, we finally took our hike to Cutthroat Castle! Mr. Kill, an archaeologist, explained to us that the [many] structures had not really been preserved by modern man at all. Only minor structural work as been done. It was so cool to think that the bricks and mortar still standing were the original for the walls left standing!
After lunch and lots of pictures, we hiked back to the vans (which handled the rough, unpaved roads like champions). Kathe and David pointed us in the direction of more ruins to explore.
Rather than going straight to the ruins, we took a quick trip to Utah when we found out we were only 15 miles from the border! We drove for about 200 yards and decided there was more to see in Colorado…and much better roads.
Stay tuned to hear about our trip to the Anasazi Heritage Center on Thursday!
In order to protect the fragile environment, they explained to us the importance of maintaining a proper, visible trail. With many massive boulders, it's easy to lose the trodden path.
We worked to build karens, a simple structure comprised of a wooden post in the center of a 24" tall cage. To make them more visually appealing and to keep them stable, we scavenged for flat rocks to fill the cages along the trail to Painted Hand.
While hiking we were able to see more ruins and even some preserved wall paintings and petroglyphs, some as old as 800 years.
After finishing the trail work, we finally took our hike to Cutthroat Castle! Mr. Kill, an archaeologist, explained to us that the [many] structures had not really been preserved by modern man at all. Only minor structural work as been done. It was so cool to think that the bricks and mortar still standing were the original for the walls left standing!
After lunch and lots of pictures, we hiked back to the vans (which handled the rough, unpaved roads like champions). Kathe and David pointed us in the direction of more ruins to explore.
Rather than going straight to the ruins, we took a quick trip to Utah when we found out we were only 15 miles from the border! We drove for about 200 yards and decided there was more to see in Colorado…and much better roads.
Stay tuned to hear about our trip to the Anasazi Heritage Center on Thursday!
Alabama: For girls dinner, Caitlin drew up menus for "Chez Bro" and Raha bought yellow roses!
Alabama: Girls made breakfast for dinner tonight. Kristin contributed chocolate covered fruit!
Dallas -- A Quick Photo
Dallas -- It's A Small World
We kicked off our day bright and early at the Resource Center food bank, the same place we worked yesterday morning. We were immediately put to work helping with the new trucks that came in, unloading product and organizing it on the shelves. We met some new volunteers, and again we were blown away by their friendliness and their dedication. Unfortunately, we were unable to stay long enough to help check out clients like we did yesterday, because we chose to split our time half and half with the hot meals portion of the program. It was very exciting for the group who had already worked there to return, and for the rest of us to get to see everybody in the relaxing setting of eating lunch rather than the rush of the food bank.
Because there was so many of us, we weren't all able to be working at once, which allowed for conversation with the people eating there. Within the first ten minutes, we were once again reminded how small the world really is when we met Al, a man who graduated from the Mizzou Ag school. He also has a daughter running a small restaurant in Columbia, less than two minutes from the campus. Al was absolutely thrilled to see us, and insisted on getting a picture with us all. As we continued to talk with Mark and him, we gained a great deal of insight on the emotional repercussions of contracting HIV/AIDS. Mark and Al were what they referred to as LTS, long time survivors, because they had already lived with the disease for twenty years. Because of this they have a very important role in their community, sharing what they know with those who are newly diagnosed with HIV or AIDS and helping them through the ordeal of getting help and information on fighting the disease. We were very touched by their stories, and about how willing they were to share them with us. We exchanged email addresses with Mark, and will be keeping in contact with him in the future. The group had a great time helping at the hot meals line, and we will be returning tomorrow to volunteer again (and devour a delicious chocolate cake Doris promised to cook for us!)
On our way to Whataburger for lunch, we encountered a homeless man at a stoplight and decided to give him some of our large abundance of snack food. We offered him several different options, but he was adamant about needing cash rather than food donations. Ashley had two dollars that we donated to him. Though we were glad to help him in whatever capacity we could, we were somewhat confused as to why he did not accept our offer of food, but we hope that it went to a good cause.
Because we didn't have any volunteering set up for the rest of the evening, we went back to Katie's house to eat our Whataburger (delicious, very similar to Sonic), relax by the pool, and eat a fabulous dinner of homemade pizza. We're very excited to work with the Resource Center again, and hope to have more to share tomorrow!
Because there was so many of us, we weren't all able to be working at once, which allowed for conversation with the people eating there. Within the first ten minutes, we were once again reminded how small the world really is when we met Al, a man who graduated from the Mizzou Ag school. He also has a daughter running a small restaurant in Columbia, less than two minutes from the campus. Al was absolutely thrilled to see us, and insisted on getting a picture with us all. As we continued to talk with Mark and him, we gained a great deal of insight on the emotional repercussions of contracting HIV/AIDS. Mark and Al were what they referred to as LTS, long time survivors, because they had already lived with the disease for twenty years. Because of this they have a very important role in their community, sharing what they know with those who are newly diagnosed with HIV or AIDS and helping them through the ordeal of getting help and information on fighting the disease. We were very touched by their stories, and about how willing they were to share them with us. We exchanged email addresses with Mark, and will be keeping in contact with him in the future. The group had a great time helping at the hot meals line, and we will be returning tomorrow to volunteer again (and devour a delicious chocolate cake Doris promised to cook for us!)
On our way to Whataburger for lunch, we encountered a homeless man at a stoplight and decided to give him some of our large abundance of snack food. We offered him several different options, but he was adamant about needing cash rather than food donations. Ashley had two dollars that we donated to him. Though we were glad to help him in whatever capacity we could, we were somewhat confused as to why he did not accept our offer of food, but we hope that it went to a good cause.
Because we didn't have any volunteering set up for the rest of the evening, we went back to Katie's house to eat our Whataburger (delicious, very similar to Sonic), relax by the pool, and eat a fabulous dinner of homemade pizza. We're very excited to work with the Resource Center again, and hope to have more to share tomorrow!
Twin Cities - Working to Feed Children Abroad
Written by Lisa Peterson
Today was an early day for us here in Minnesota. We left Dunrovin Retreat Center at 8:00 a.m. so we could get to Feed My Starving Children before 9:30 a.m. Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit organization that packages food to send to impoverished children. There were about 45 volunteers, including the nine of us, at our 9:30-11:30 shift. We were shown a video about the work of Feed My Starving Children in Haiti and then learned about the different ingredients in the food bags they ship. Each bag had chicken flavor, dehydrated potatoes and carrots, soy, and rice. We were told that the goal for the day was to pack 15,000 bags of food, which seemed like a ridiculous amount for less than two hours of volunteering.
To start off, we split off into different stations. One person was in charge of measuring and pouring the chicken flavoring and veggies, another was in charge of the soy and rice, two people bagged and weighed the packages of food, the next person sealed the bags, and then the last person was in charge of organizing the bags and packing them in boxes. They played all sorts of good music while we worked, which really helped move the time along. We even got to practice our amazing singing and dancing while helping impoverished children, what could be better? At the end of the day we were told that each bag of food costs 17 cents to make and ship. Also we surpassed our goal by a lot. Instead of packaging 15,000 bags of food, we packaged almost 20,000 (19,872 to be exact) bags of food and that amount of food will feed 54 children for an entire year. The food we packed will be shipped to Haiti, for children there, on April 6. It was an amazing experience and we all had a great time. It was really awesome to be able to know exactly how the work we did would be affecting the lives of people around the world, and took our trip to the international level.
A couple of U-turns a nice lunch at a playground later, we arrived at the Breaking Free apartment to finish painting. We did some touch-ups and got to know the interior designer, Suzanne, better. When we finished, the apartment looked amazing in latte and white. I was surprised that after a little more than two days (not including our issue with the fire) we were able to completely paint two apartments. It just shows how quickly you can get things done when you work with other people and make sure to have fun with what you're doing. It's also a little sad knowing that we won't be going back to those apartments. We can just hope that the tenants like the new paint, even if it is flat instead of semi-gloss.
We returned to Dunrovin, once we finished painting at Breaking Free. Some people did homework while others enjoyed the amazing 80-degree weather by kayaking and canoeing on the river. Later, we had a nice homemade taco dinner at Dunrovin. After our wonderful dinner, we waited for the sun to set and then had built a campfire. We made s'mores and got to know each other a lot better. We talked about a mixture of topics and enjoyed the warmth of the fire, along with making up stories and hoping the scary possum that kept rustling around in the woods didn't attack us.
Members of the group at Feed My Starving Children
The meal bags we prepared.
The finished product of our group -- the boxes will be sent to Haiti next week.
Whoops!
Dyslexia strikes again. In the most recent Alabama post, I meant BAO, not BOA, referring to Birmingham AIDS Outreach.
So this post isn't a total waste, we are currently devouring three free pizzas thanks to Kailee's amazing connections! We definitely built up an appetite today, though perhaps not enough for 5 meals a day (what the heck, New Orleans?!).
Stay tuned for more posts tomorrow!
Kristin (aka Russia)
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
So this post isn't a total waste, we are currently devouring three free pizzas thanks to Kailee's amazing connections! We definitely built up an appetite today, though perhaps not enough for 5 meals a day (what the heck, New Orleans?!).
Stay tuned for more posts tomorrow!
Kristin (aka Russia)
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
New Orleans- Recovery
Hello again-
Today was another day of scraping, sanding, priming, and painting the Satchmo Low-Income Senior Housing while singing along to classic rock tunes. We have almost finish the work on the first house and made a great deal of progress on the second today. Another beautiful, sunny day we are all feeling slightly blinded from staring at the "glad yellow" paint for the house.
Last night we went to a University of New Orleans vs. Brown University baseball game to see Carolyn's cousin as the Bears' starting pitcher. With the addition of our group, we were the largest crowd Brown had ever had on the road. We had a blast re-writing the Mizzou fight song to fit "Brown Bears." For the record, it doesn't work.
After the Privateers clinched the game with a three run homer, we headed to Camilla's Diner. We feasted on omlettes, burgers, fries, and milkshakes. While we ate at the old fashioned counter, we made friends with some police men with heavy New Orleans accents (kind of Boston meets the deep south) who told us about some New Orleans Civil War history.
Tonight we are heading to Katherine's aunt and uncles's home for barbeque and swimming. And because we've been making an effort to eat as much local cuisine as possible (eating 5 meals a day) we are probably going to stop for Snowballs and Camilla's. Nothing like another 8,000 calorie day...
Today was another day of scraping, sanding, priming, and painting the Satchmo Low-Income Senior Housing while singing along to classic rock tunes. We have almost finish the work on the first house and made a great deal of progress on the second today. Another beautiful, sunny day we are all feeling slightly blinded from staring at the "glad yellow" paint for the house.
Last night we went to a University of New Orleans vs. Brown University baseball game to see Carolyn's cousin as the Bears' starting pitcher. With the addition of our group, we were the largest crowd Brown had ever had on the road. We had a blast re-writing the Mizzou fight song to fit "Brown Bears." For the record, it doesn't work.
After the Privateers clinched the game with a three run homer, we headed to Camilla's Diner. We feasted on omlettes, burgers, fries, and milkshakes. While we ate at the old fashioned counter, we made friends with some police men with heavy New Orleans accents (kind of Boston meets the deep south) who told us about some New Orleans Civil War history.
Tonight we are heading to Katherine's aunt and uncles's home for barbeque and swimming. And because we've been making an effort to eat as much local cuisine as possible (eating 5 meals a day) we are probably going to stop for Snowballs and Camilla's. Nothing like another 8,000 calorie day...
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