Service Day #4: Springboard to Opportunities

Service Day #4

Today we volunteered with Springboard, an organization that provides affordable housing communities for low income clients, especially single parent families and children. We painted a wall, built shelves, and distributed flyers, while touring the different communities and learning about Springboard's mission and goals. At the end of the day, we also talked with a small group of middle-schoolers who lived in the community about college and the importance of an education. 

It was very impactful to listen to Parthenia, our tour guide and community director. The passion she had for her work and building up the communities was extremely inspiring. She valued and respected all the residents, which is often a population that's discriminated against and oppressed. She treated them with the same respect and dignity that all people deserve.

I loved seeing how well organized and renovated the apartments in the communities were. They were all quality living spaces, and as Parthenia said, "Sometimes when you change their surroundings, that can change people's attitudes in a positive way." I love that philosophy, and it really holds true. Everyone deserves to feel secure and like they belong.

Overall, despite some rain, Day 5 was inspiring and fun, filled with flyer distribution races, expert team work, and an epic battle of bunny bunny to close out the night!

That wraps up Day 5

Love, a tired but excited ASB team, Marginalized Populations and Inclusion.

Service Day #2: Stewpot

 Service Day #2

Today we volunteered at Stewpot, a community soup kitchen and support center for the homeless. We started out organizing care bag supplies, separating out soap, tooth brushes, and other hygiene items. We also cleaned up around the facility, helping clear out closets and transporting boxes, what ever they needed. Then we headed to lunch, where we joined in on an assembly line, making food trays and serving them out. We also handed out care bags and candy canes as people left.

Overall, the service today was an incredible experience. It was amazing to see how organized and efficient Stewpot is, as well as how friendly the staff and various volunteers were. It's always an eye opening experience, and makes you think about all we take for granted on a day to day basis like a simple meal for lunch or owning a toothbrush. It was apparent that the Stewpot aims to help as many people as possible, and even in the short time we spent there, you could see the good a single meal had on those people.

During reflection, one name came up multiple times from nearly everyone in our group. There was a man named Don, who welcomed us that morning on the piano, singing songs and opening the floor for the director who gave us a brief synopsis of Stewpot and how they came about. The Director also shared with us Don's story. After college, Don struggled with alcohol and lost his way. He depended on Stewpot and eventually recovered, embracing music, and now working for Stewpot. He was such a light and his energy and spirit were infectious, spreading through all of us. That was just one example of a life Stewpot changed and it was really uplifting.

Another highlight from the day was seeing how excited the staff got when we cleaned out a bogged down closet. I've never seen so much joy shown over being able to see the floor! That moment just showed just how much nonprofits like the Stewpot depend on volunteers and that the work we were doing mattered, whether it be indirect or direct service.

We also ran into a fellow Vol fan! Who knew, we've even got supporters all the way down in Jackson, Mississippi! I was serving water and a man flagged me down because he noticed my power T tank top. Next thing I know, I'm talking stats and reliving the glory days from the Fulmer era. It was nice to have a sweet reminder of home.

So that was a brief overview of day 3! In addition to service, we had a very heated Spoons tournament and a really fun and interesting tour of the Old Capitol Building. We're all extremely tired but excited for all the come the next few days!

That's all for now!

Love, ASB Marginalized Populations and Inclusion

Service Day #5: The Good Samaritan Center

 Service Day 5

Today was such an amazing day! We were granted the opportunity to volunteer at The Great Samaritan Center for the third day this week, and over the course of all our visits, the group was able to gain a vivid image of what serving alongside selfless individuals and how much our minor contributions may have made a major contribution to a less fortunate community.

Today we were separated into about four groups to help clean different parts of the warehouse. In the food pantry, we wiped down walls, tables, and food racks. In the personal care closet, we reorganized over 15 shelves of unorganized baby diapers, bottles, cleaning supplies, shampoos, conditioners, lotions, etc.

Other groups were assigned to clean bathrooms, office areas, the clothing closet, the “Free” storage bins and pickup liter around two blocks surrounding the GSC.

Though we did not see the direct impact on the community, the idea that we were able to help clean, organize, and do prep work for future projects took a lot of pressure off the few employees of GSC and created more opportunities for the GSC to be a beneficiary to the community.

This experience relates to the Inclusion aspect of our theme because it shows how the back end work that is done or that may seem unimportant is really the key to all of the accomplishments that are presented to the public. In regards to the marginalized population’s aspect, we were able to work with and both directly and indirectly benefit multiple communities that are typically left out. It is an outcome that shows that one should consider all aspects of any service project because regardless if the outcome isn’t instantly noticeable, the job is completed, someone else doesn’t have to do it and no effort is ever a waste of time or energy. Someone is appreciative of the completed task and there is always someone who is impacted from the minor yet major service contributed.  

The most memorable moment of today was being able to have a personal reflection on all the great things we aided the GSC in accomplishing, as well as having the opportunity to shop in their thrift shop NUTS “Newly Used Things for Sale” and seeing some of the items that we sorted earlier this week out for sale. Being able to humble ourselves and realize the value in a majority of the items we sorted was awarding. As a bonus, we were able to purchase some of those sorted items at a volunteer discount on top of the normal sale.

Service Day #1: The Good Samaritan Center

3/14/16

Day 2:

Today we volunteered with The Good Samaritan Center, primarily aiding to sort through clothing donations and de-weeding their future garden area. They shared a lot of information with us about their upcoming programs, including gardening and cooking courses and their current endeavors such as mock interviews, their clothing closet, and their food pantry. We also did some pretty hard core paint scraping at a vacant building in the center's possession awaiting rental/ repurpose.

The clothing sorting was very methodical. The center didn't put any clothing out on their sale floor that had holes, signs of wear, or that was outdated. Yet, nothing was ever wasted. Most of the clothing was sent to the sales floor, all of the great finds were saved for their re-store, and the rest was sold in bulk for repairs and repurpose.


Honestly, scraping the paint was probably the hardest service work I had ever done. Most of us walked away with minor sunburns. Meanwhile, my inner monologue was rolling: "Man, you certainly know how to spend your spring break." "Yeah, it's tough, but I've done it before, and I'll do it again."

So why do we serve?

A member of our team shared a great story in reflection tonight that somehow related to service for me.
She really loves sports. I mean, the kind of love that radiates off of her as she says the word. One of the hardest times in her athletic career was tearing her ACL and not being able to play anymore. So difficult that, even having attended ever one of her teammates games, she now felt discouraged.
After a while, her dad convinced her to come around, and so she did. After arriving, she was moved to find that all of her previous teammates were on the field wearing arm bands with her team name on them. She said it moved her because it made her feel like she was out there, it didn't matter that her name was there on their arms.

I think that's what is important about service. Giving it your all in everything you do, including the capacity to which you pour into others. We are all human and deserving of being loved on now and again and admired for our strengths, because we all have low points and hardships.

Giving back is a way of surrendering a part of yourself in order to serve a greater change, a ripple effect.

Today was hard. It didn't immediately feel like much more than a tiresome day. But Friday, when we paint that building, it will be available to rent out to local business owners (btw: local businesses are crucial to increasing revenue in areas all over like South Jackson), bring back another piece of the Mississippi pride that once filled the area.

I hope one day I will come back and see the progress that has been made because of small changes that have rippled into tidal waves. There is definitely a reward and a means of being moved in seeing those invisible arm bands signaling your part in this place, because you belong to this global team.

I think that's part of why we serve. We also serve to help enable others to serve themselves and then pass it on. We are made up of so many systems. I hope that one day everyone will wear the arm bands of one another and remember how much more fulfilling it is to give than receive. In truth, the greatest gifts come from service.

I used to love the quote that said something about the true gift of service lying in the opportunities we take to serve those that have nothing to offer us in return. I think I disagree with this statement. Everyone I have ever served or served with has always had several things to offer me: a fresh perspective, knowledge of the things they know better than me because they have lived through it, and they have taught me to be empathetic, an advocate, and HAPPY above all obstacles.

Every person I have served, served with, or organization I have served for has equipped me with the tools I consciously take to my next act of service with intentions of striving to improve upon them. These actions aid in changing the voice of the world, and it is powerful to move in these shapes and forms that service has challenged me to embody in order to empower and immerse myself in this gift of giving.

There are so many things I love about this trip already. The people I have been blessed to serve with have made it even more worth while. The laughs and jokes and memories are imperishable in my heart and mind, and the service always feels the same: A constant motion toward invincible love and equality.