Super Spring Break...Community Service Style
After trying to get involved in the Alternative Breaks program at NYU for three years, I was finally able to go on my first community service trip last week. As an RA of the NYU CORPS floor, essentially a community service floor, part of our responsibilities was to bring our residents on an Alternative Spring Breaks trip. My co-RA and I decided to work with Essential 2 Life, an organization based out of Atlanta, GA that works with "at-risk youth" and was willing to let us customize our trip which was really exciting.
11 of our residents ended up signing up for the trip (it was open to the entire floor--about 35 people) and we had an absolute blast. We flew down to Atlanta on Sunday, 3/15 and did service Monday-Thursday before flying back up to NY on Friday. After our orientation on Monday morning with three other colleges (George Washington University, University of Kentucky, and University of Wisconsin at River Falls) we went to the Martin Luther King, Jr. museum which was really interesting. We then went and volunteered at the NFL/YET Boys and Girls Club--I got to play tag and take pictures with a bunch of the children who were eager to open up and have fun.
Tuesday morning we began by volunteering at Woodson Elementary School. It was actually my birthday and I was completely in my element--even when I'm not student teaching I'm spending time in schools, LOVE IT! Two of my residents and I worked in a second grade class and they even let me lead a game of hangman which was fun. After battling with the Atlanta public transportation system, MARTA, we finally arrived at Bankhead--government housing projects in Atlanta where we would spend that afternoon and the following one. Between the two afternoons we hung out at Bankhead we bonded with so many of the children and created so many memories for ourselves as well as the children. We were able to speak with the teens about their experiences and one of the boys who was about 11 even taught us how to predict how many children we'd have based on the veins in our wrist--lots of fun and laughs. He also said a bunch of us were his wives and daughters and jokingly fought with other boys over us. Many of my residents played kickball with the children which was a huge hit and everyone had a great time.
Tuesday night we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for my birthday where I proceeded to not only eat a delicious meal but then be completely embarrassed in front of the entire restaurant. The waitress came over to me with a huge brownie a la mode (which was absolutely amazing) and made me stand on my chair holding the dessert while she quieted the ENTIRE restaurant so they could all wish me a happy birthday. I don't think I've ever blushed so much in my life--and it takes a lot to embarrass me. Needless to say it was a great birthday and I have so many awesome memories.
Wednesday morning we went to government housing for seniors where some of us played BINGO with the residents and others of us cleaned some peoples' apartments. I chose to do the later so I could have a different, more eye-opening experience. I couldn't have been happier with my choice despite the fact that the next few hours proved to be emotionally challenging. Three of my residents and I worked with two students from GWU to clean a woman's kitchen where we found dead bugs and dirty dishes filling her cabinet beside open and old food that shouldn't be consumed. We were all definitely out of our comfort zone but worked together to help this woman live in a more suitable environment. It was really great to see everyone come together to be as efficient as possible.
Thursday we went back to the elementary school in the morning then headed to the Atlanta Food Bank where we sorted and packaged 8,736 pounds of food which is enough to make 5,824 meals. We had fun and also learned a little more about the demographics of the Atlanta community. We rounded out the trip with an evening at a nearby carnival where we got to relive our childhood and have a ton of fun. Each evening we also had a reflection and chatted about our experiences and reactions to the various projects we engaged in.
Overall it was hands down a life-changing experience that I would recommend to anyone--both the Alternative Breaks program as well as working with Essential 2 Life. But, if you plan to head down to Atlanta, be sure you have your own transportation unless you want to spend countless hours waiting for buses that only come every 30-40 minutes.