Thursday, August 27, 2009

Adieu to the Crew

Free wi-fi up in the sky. A lot has happened in the past 7 months, including the addition of internet-access to AirTran flights. I started this entry up there, and I'm continuing it back in Boston. The final week at the Mayor’s Summer of Service was filled with excitement, frustrations, and tears, as we celebrated our achievements, rolled with the punches on a challenging week, and said goodbye to our participants.

Our final week was a busy one, filled with All-Corps days where all of the crews worked and trained together all week, unlike other weeks where the format was reserved for Fridays. Earlier on in the week, we worked with Sasha Bruce, an organization dedicated to helping homeless youth; our crews helped packaged food and learned a lot more about homeless youth and transitional housing.



The rest of the week was full of confusion and frustration over how each day would unfold. Fortunately, the crews were all together and we were able to improvise and manage to still get things done. Our final day with the participants was bittersweet. All of us were tired, both the crew leaders and participants, so the upcoming break was on our minds. However, saying goodbye to the friends we've made this whole summer was difficult; Our participants made this project, and they kept us going through all of the challenges we'd faced.



Each crew gave a presentation or performance to sum up their projects and experiences. All of them were hilarious, and it was nice to see that everyone had fun putting them together. Lili and my crew organized a step performance/battle of sorts, that started with the women showing how a real step is done, and the guys ending with our showing-off of our stepping skills. We only made the women's performance look that much better, and I think everyone got a kick out of it.



Mayor's Summer of Service t-shirts were given out to the participants, and we grabbed some extras as well, to commence in the signing of each other's shirts, something that wasn't planned. It was a nice end to the day, as it was the last time we'd be seeing our crews. Just a few days have gone by, and I already miss Blue Crew 3. Right about now, they've started the school year, and are probably in class, talking about a summer unlike anyone else's. I hope, like me, it's one that's had a positive impact.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Parks, Foodies, & Opportunities

Whew. One week left of SOS. We're at the final stretch, and I'm feeling fairly stretched out myself. This past week has been an interesting wrap-up of sorts, where all of the projects finished up (in preparation for "close-out week"). Since Heads Up concluded last week, Blue 3 has jumped around DC a bit this week. Our week began at the playground, where we left our mark, making everything clean, shiny, and new. It was a hot day again, but the participants were troopers; I was happy to be able to bring them indoors for the following three days.

Capital Area Food Bank was our next stop from Tuesday through Thursday. I think this has been one of my favorite projects of MSOS so far. You get to move around and work together in one area, and being able to see the progress you've made in just a day is motivating. We had two objectives: sort food that's been donated into catagories, and package food items within each category to be shipped to the warehouse area. The area we worked in contained many cages that were labeled by catagory: canned meats, condiments, snacks, rice and pasta, etc. Whereas a few different groups came in at various hours during our three days there, our team was certainly the full-time crew in a sense, so it was nice to be able to come in on Wednesday and Thursday and just get right to work. We got a lot done: 20,000 lbs of food was sorted and packaged. It certainly felt like an accomplishment, and I hope the participants felt the same.

Coincidentally, this happened to be the same food bank I volunteered at a year and a half ago during my college's Alternative Spring Break Trip, so I was fortunately already familiar with the project. It was great showing our participants how a food bank works, and also learning a lot myself about how efforts against poverty and hunger are being made on a daily basis. There is so much to be done, and getting food sorted and packaged allows the process of obtaining more donations and giving out more food more efficient. The more people volunteer, the more others can benefit from the food bank. One of our participants in particular really enjoyed working there this week, and I was excited to hear from him that he would love to come back to volunteer.

Another exciting note: The Washington Post came by on Thursday to do a story on young volunteers at the food bank. Our volunteer coordinator asked if our team would be interested in being interviewed. We were, of course, and a couple of our participants and I were interviewed. I'm interested to see how it turns out; it seems they took a lot of photos, which should be online and published at some point. I may include that here once I hear news about it.

Our participant week concluded with a visit to the University of Maryland, where we introduced our participants to a great speaker, who happened to be a former professor of one of the crew leaders. The day was filled with presentations on AmeriCorps NCCC, Peace Corps, Job Corps, and City Year. We were even able to score a tour of the Comcast Center, where the Terrapins play, in addition to many concerts and events each year.

...a solid week, I'd say. It feels like its been two weeks, and in a sense, there's been more of a condensing than a stretching of To-Do's. But our last to-do is this week, during their close-out. It seems most of it is up in the air, so I look forward to bring it down to earth in my next entry...

Monday, August 10, 2009

The Impact of Wheel-Swing-Contraptions


Today, the heat index reached 105 degrees. In just one hour, my uniform was soaked as if I had jumped into a pool. Oddly enough, I never expected it to turn out to be one of the best days I've had this summer.

NCCC has taken on a mini-project this past week and a half, and all of the crew has been there for at least one or more days. Near Anacostia Park is Savoy Elementary, which has a playground, a playground that happens to be the best playground around. Once an open lot, in just five or six days it has really been a ground-up project.

Since our project with Heads Up ended last week, and our week with the Food Bank starts Tuesday, we had a good three days with the build. I was able to volunteer with them on Saturday as well, so I was able to contribute 4 days towards the project; 4 days of physical labor that I had been accustomed to during my first and second projects. Heads Up was indoors, air conditioned (not that I'm complaining), and the only movement it entailed was walking from classroom to classroom. Although the mental labor involved made up for it, which to my disappointment doesn't build muscle or burn calories.

Anyway, back to the playground. Having the opportunity to build a brand new park for the children of the community who really need a place to go to play and be together was something I appreciated being a part of, and also something that many residents appreciated as well. While filling up my bottle of water, outside of the park bar fence, a woman and a little boy were walking by. She asked if I was volunteering, and then said, "Thank you so much. He'll be playing on it," pointing to who I assumed to be her son. You had to have been there to see the smile on her face as she said it while her kid did the same while skipping, because the statement itself doesn't do it justice. When something like that happens it always instantly puts things into perspective, and it feels amazing to be doing something so good and big for someone, simply by spending a few hours building stuff, getting a work out, and not to mention a pretty decent tan.

Our final day at the build wrapped up today, as we were able to see the final product. A few hours of sweeping, organizing, and transfer of materials cleared up a brand new park, ready to be introduced to the community. We have a new crew essentially, as 5 newbies began with us this week, and they all were rock stars today, working through the heat and sweating their behinds off.

Several other people walked or drove by, asking questions about when the project would be done, excited for their kids to have a playground to go to. One guy drove by, and noticing we were finished, and simply asked if we were going to put rubber flooring on the ground. The answer was yes, and he drove on seeming satisfied. It seems everyone was anticipating the grand opening, and it was all about the safety and well-being of their kids.

I can't wait to visit again and see the playground in action. I made some pretty neat wheel-swing-contraptions, which aren't actually swings at all, so I'm interested to see how kids will use them. In any case, I look forward to once again having that moment where I understand my impact by seeing it in front of me.

So, you hear me, DC? The heat is no match for me; I've got unlimited amounts of tap water to fortify my being with, so I look forward to the next heat advisory. Bring it on!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Heads Up Closes Up

Our last day with Heads Up was Wednesday. The kids enjoyed a day of movies and time at the pool, while the adults chased them around and made them play nice. It was an exhausting day, keeping an eye on everyone while they were in different locations. Our crew participants felt the same way, and it was evident as they plopped into their seats after gathering the kids after each event.

It was a great final week, and I was able to capture some great photos and video of the kids. Our second to last day was held at Trinity University in the gymnasium, where Heads Up held its annual PCE (Project Community Experience) Fair, an event where students from each school in the program come together to showcase everything they've been working on throughout the summer.

Energy soared among the kids from Amidon, right from the start of the day as they entered the building. There was a great emcee from Heads Up, and the kids were more excited than ever. At times I don't think they even knew what they were excited about, but its alright; despite the small size of our group compared to other schools, we showed the crowd just how enormous we were in spirit.




It's been an incredible summer, and now that a few days have past, I'm realizing how much I already miss them. There's a huge amount of affection and excitement that spreads among these kids, and it feels great to have been a part of that environment. I hope I've affected their lives the way they have mine.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Homelessness and the Street Soccer USA World Cup

"This gave me a lot of encouragement, that extra motivation, going out and playing, to work towards a goal. Sometimes you don't get work and everything, you get frustrated, you get mad," Carter said, breathing hard and chugging Powerade. "This helps me keep going."

For Daniel Blue, 25, a returning player who just graduated from college and is looking for work and a place to live, the team "gave me something stable to do. Even when I still had problems, it gave me an outlet and let me know that I could be all right."


Seven out of 10 Americans are one paycheck away from being homeless. I remember reading that about a year ago. I don't know if that is completely accurate, as the statistic can have a different meaning for everyone. However, the fact remains that homelessness is more prevalent than ever, especially here in DC.

This Friday, I Iearned that many who are recovering from homelessness have come together for an incredible event called Street Soccer USA World Cup. I was fortunate enough to be able to participate at the event this past Friday along with the rest of the crew and participants. Click on the quote above for the article about the St. Louis Roadies, the team that faced off against our home team.

The crew was there to help with set up, crowd control, and of course, cheer on the teams! Please take a look at the article; you won't want to miss the next Cup.

After that, check out the following web site. The paper is called StreetSense, and it is written and sold by homeless in DC. It costs a dollar and profits go towards homelessness recovery. If you're ever in DC, next time you think about grabbing the nearest sensational newspaper or magazine, buy a copy of StreetSense instead. www.streetsense.org