Final Thoughts

I can’t believe that just one week ago, I was packing up to say good-bye to New York City after one of the most fun and eye-opening weeks of my life. I had the best time serving in New York City on the 2011 Alternative Breaks trip and am excited to engage in more service at home in San Luis Obispo.

I think that what amazed me most about this trip was the altruistic spirits of each of the students in our group; their excitement to serve others and desire to make a difference were clearly apparent in their attitudes and actions. Our service ranged from preparing and serving meals at a soup kitchen to delivering meals to the home-bound elderly to packaging food for distribution at the Food Bank for New York City, but whatever our project was for the day, the enthusiasm of our group was contagious. It was amazing to see 12 students with such a great passion to serve.

In English, we use one word to describe all kinds of love. In Greek, however, different kinds of love are described with different words. Agape is the Greek word that is used to describe the giving of ones self for the benefit of others, the manifestation of a commitment to service. When I think about agape, I think about the 2011 Alternative Breaks crew- Sami, Eric, Tiana, Giana, Jessica, Megan, Maddie, Shannon, Jake, Jenna, Cassidy, and Jesse- you are all amazing and have inspired me think outside of myself about the much bigger world. Thanks for the great week, I won’t ever forget it!

Robin

4th Yr. Animal Science

Day 3: Encore Community Services - Meals on Wheels

It has been a whirlwind adventure for Cal Poly Alternative Breaks here in New York City. Four full days of service combined with sightseeing in between has brought us many fulfilling memories. And the week isn’t over yet! 

Seeing as this was the last day of service during the trip, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on our experiences. We have packaged food in the food warehouse in the Bronx, prepared and served meals at the food bank in Harlem, and delivered meals to the elderly all over the city. It is definitely hard to pinpoint what would be the highlight of my trip, I enjoyed every second of it! If I had to narrow it down though, I would have to say that my highlight of this week would consist of both Tuesday and Wednesday – Serving meals at the food bank and delivering meals to the elderly. 

Wednesday’s service for the elderly made an impression in my life because of what I have previously learned here at Cal Poly. I am a Nutrition major, and last quarter I took a Nutrition and Aging class that taught us about the elderly population, and how nutrition is important as adults age. With this knowledge I was very excited to be able to hand deliver meals to elderly residents of the city. I realized the importance of our services that day, and of elderly services as a whole. Many of the residents we delivered meals to lived in high rise apartments, and with any kind of disability such as arthritis it makes it difficult to get to a grocery store to buy or cook food on a regular basis. The meals we provide them allow them to maintain their independence and also provides a sense of comfort during the day. 

The second day that struck a nerve for me was serving meals at the food bank. This day was unlike any other because of the direct contact we had with people from all sorts of backgrounds. And regardless of this diversity, everyone shared a common purpose: to enjoy each other’s company and enjoy a hot meal. Our purpose was to welcome them and make sure everyone got enough to eat. When we first walked into the food bank at the beginning of the day the staff leader welcomed us with words I will never forget: “You're family now.”  I think this set the tone for the rest of the day, because from there was definitely an atmosphere of love and support that families give to each other. I think this is especially important for where we were working because food, love, and support is what makes the days more enjoyable amongst the everyday worries or struggles that go along with what life throws at you. 

Another thing the food bank taught me was a lesson about differing view points, and how important it is to hold back any judgments we may make when meeting someone, or passing by someone for the first time. I am currently reading a book called Let the Great World Spin, and there is quote in it that I think sums up what I mean by this. It reads: “All the lives we could live, all the people we will never know, never will be, they are everywhere. That is what life is.” To me, this means that there are people all around us who lead completely different life styles than us, which makes it so necessary to be able to find a way to relate to them. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes from time to time, especially during the moments when you understand them the least is what brings people from all different backgrounds together, very much like what we saw in Harlem at the food bank.

OK, enough with the reflecting, we have a brand new day dedicated to seeing the sights of New York! Let’s bring on the adventures!

Madeline Kelly

3^rd Year Nutrition Major

Day 2: New York City Food Bank - Harlem

It’s amazing to think how much the group got out of today’s service event and it’s only the second day! We spent the day working at a soup kitchen in Harlem serving breakfast and dinner to the community. The staff was so warm and welcoming from the moment we got there and made us immediately feel like we were family. While working with the staff brought us moments of laughter it was heartbreaking to see the number of individuals who came through the doors. Reality set in as we realized how many individuals relied on the soup kitchen. The crowd of people lined outside the door for breakfast immediately rushed in creating a chaotic line. While this was happening I noticed one young girl within the crowd that stuck out to me the most. She looked to be in her early 20’s. I tried putting myself in her shoes and pondered what it would be like to rely on the soup kitchen for a meal. I don’t know her story and I don’t know her given situation, but I hope serving her that breakfast brought some comfort and relief to her day.

Everyone seemed to be affected by the day as we shared with one another our stories during reflection. We just couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have to worry about our next meal or where we would get it.  I personally felt this day opened up my eyes even more. Working in the warehouse was great, but serving the food to each individual made the experience so much more personal. I saw the elderly, young adults, and children walk through those doors hoping to get at least one meal. I can’t imagine what they’ve been through or what they’ve gone through. It was hard to see the truth and reality on the problem with hunger within the community but I’m glad I got to see it firsthand. I hope that our service today or even just the simples smiles we had on our faces helped those individuals in some part of their day. After today I’m much more appreciative of programs like the food bank and the soup kitchens that help those in need of a meal. I wonder what the next couple of days will bring for us as a group, but I sure can’t wait to find out.

Jessica

            4^th Yr. Political Science

Day 1 - The Bronx Food Warehouse

Monday, March 21, 2011

Today was the first day of our volunteering adventure! Yesterday was a long day of travel so curling up in our bunk beds at the end of the night was a great feeling. Unfortunately, we had an early departure this morning in order to make it to our shift on time; in California time, it was around 3:30am when the alarms went off. By 7:30am, New York time, we were on our way to the subway in route to the Bronx. Our experience began the minute we stepped foot in the subway when we joined the working New Yorkers in their morning commute to work.

It was amazing to see the children who took the subway with the large mass of commuters. I can't imagine being that young and riding alone. As a college student in a group, I was still slightly nervous. I guess that shows what being immersed in a society does to you. Once we survived the trek through the rain, we met our mentor, Kenny. We watched a video about The Food Bank For New York City. This put faces to the mass of people we are helping by volunteering. The first part of the morning, from 9-11:30am, we worked in teams and labeled cans of dog food. We broke for lunch and returned to label cans of asparagus. Kenny was so impressed with how quickly we finished labeling the cans; he expected us to take another 1-2hrs! He gave us one more small task and we were out early.

After plenty of pictures, we left the food bank and walked through the Bronx to the subway. It was amazing to walk the streets and see the side of town most tourists do not see. Being the minority in the city is certainly a culture shock; we are definitely not in SLO anymore!

We made our way back to the hostel and reflected on our experience as a group. It is always interesting to hear other people's experiences compared to your perception of the day. We got ready and had our first group dinner at a small Indian restaurant where we did family style meal sharing. Delicious!! We finally made our way to TIME SQUARE!! It was surreal: bright lights, hundreds of people, and you can't forget... Elmo. The group split up and explored NYC in our small groups.


So far, this experience has been unbelievable! Friendships have started to bloom, a new city with amazing sites to be seen, but most importantly we are changing lives. Today, we packaged over 5,683 lbs. of food. That is enough to feel 4,371 people in New York- what an indescribable feeling.

One moment from the day that has stuck with me was Kenny telling us it almost brought him to tears that we chose to spend our Spring Break volunteering. When you can see the difference you are making, simply by giving your time, it makes the entire experience worth it. And, it is only day 1.

Enjoy following our adventure!

Shannon Kelly
3rd Yr. Kinesiology

Hello From New York!

While Sunday was a travel day for most, a few of us brave ones took red-eyes Saturday night and arrived extremely early this morning. Generally sleepless, we still managed to venture out and explore the city, mostly on foot. All of the usual tourist traps from Times Square to Central Park to the New York Public Library and everything in between were covered, and now we are back at the hostel, exhausted but in good spirits, and waiting for the rest of the group to show up.

Tomorrow begins our first day of volunteer work, and I'm so excited to get involved! I've been looking forward to getting back out into the community for a long time, and what better place to do it than the heart of New York City.

Signing off!

Eric Davis
5th Yr. Liberal Arts and Engineering

The McGraw Rotunda at The New York City Public Library

New York, New York!

Cal Poly’s Alternative Breaks program is heading for the BIG APPLE on Sunday! 13 students and 1 staff member will travel to New York City to work alongside the New York City Food Bank. The trip’s focus is to work with issues of hunger and homelessness in the city!

Before we depart I recently ran across something I think truly embodies Alternative Breaks -

"Kaizen" is the Japanese philosophy that states great change is often the result of many small steps.

The impact of Alternative Breaks, both on agencies and students, is the result of many small steps. The work students collectively contribute to local agencies may be hard to measure, besides in quantifiable means, but never doubt that these students are making an impact on the sites they volunteer at, just as the sites are forever marked in the hearts of the volunteers!

Follow us this week as we share our experiences in The City That Never Sleeps!



Ready for your life to be changed? Start here – Alternative Breaks

New Orleans 2010: A Week in the Big Easy

Hello from beautiful (and cold!) New Orleans!

We're here as part of Alternative Breaks 2010. There are ten women on this trip and we are loving it so far. We've seen some incredible things, like a Saints victory (WHO DAT), reindeer, and many different po’boys. The women of the trip are Athena, Alyson, Christina, Hannah, Jenna, Kara, Kelli, Lisa, Michele, and Michelle.

Sunday December 12th

We all arrived at different times throughout the day but once we were all together we checked into our hostel. It's this amazing place where we got lucky enough to have our own room. There's a three legged cat, people from all over the world, coffee all the time, and best of all, gumbo! After looking around a bit we wanted to see downtown so we wandered down to the waterfront and ate at a restaurant called Huck Finns. They served some crazy things there. No one wanted the fried pickles (sad!) but we did end up with some hush puppies (stuffed with crawfish) and fried alligator (Alyson says it tastes like chewy chicken). With our bellies full we decided to head back to the hostel and get some sleep for the construction we were going to do the next day (after we navigated the insane one way streets that is...)

Monday December 13th

We woke up bright and early (4:30am pacific time)to be at our first day’s work. We went to Operation Helping Hands which is part of Catholic Charities. There we met up with some AmeriCorps peeps and split up into two groups. The first group (Michele, Michelle, Jenna, Kelli, Hannah) went off to a house that during Hurricane Katrina had been under six feet of water. There we installed insulation and painted the sideboards of the house flamingo pink. The other group (Christina, Alyson, Kara, Athena, Lisa) painted, caulked, and chiseled to their hearts content. After a hard day’s work we ate dinner with the other volunteers prepared by Miss Cathy. After venturing back to the hotel we cleaned up and caught the trolley to downtown and explored Bourbon St. After walking up and down the street we headed back to the hostel to get some sleep since we still had to work in the morning.

Tuesday December 14th

Again, we woke up bright and early to go and work for Habitat for Humanity. Our site was in the Eighth ward next to a couple houses that hadn’t been occupied since Hurricane Katrina hit. The house we worked at had been under five feet of water. There we watched a whole roof go up, installed straps to support the roof, painted, and hung planks in the kitchen to support the cabinets and installed the windows. After another exhausting day of work we headed out for a tour of the ninth ward. There we saw even more devastation. We drove by the levee that flooded the lower ninth ward, we saw houses that were completely torn apart and never reclaimed, and we stopped by the Musician’s Neighborhood created by Habitat for Humanity. The devastation was heartbreaking to see. It’s difficult to see a once vibrant community that has been so devastated and forgotten. All of us walked away feeling like we had been sobered and had our eyes opened.
After the tour we headed our hostel and cooked a taco bar which was so yummy. After hanging out with our hostel mates some more we headed to world famous Café du Monde and enjoyed some delicious beignets drenched in powder sugar. With that done we headed back for some rest and to get ready for our day at Green Light New Orleans. Talk to you soon!


Wednesday December 15th
Today we volunteered with a really unique organization called Green Light New Orleans. Our new Australian friend Josh (whom we met at the hostel) even came along. Green Light installs energy-efficient CFL bulbs in houses for free all across the city. They have become so popular that there is a two-three year waiting list! They also have an Americorps member there and they work out of a converted house by the trolley station. When we got there Lisa and Josh were trained in how to offer these new smart meters that allow people to read their electricity meters and see how much electricity they are using at that moment and figure out how to monitor it and conserve it. The rest of us gathered up lightbulbs and split into two groups. The first group (Michelle, Michele, Alyson, Lisa) went to two houses before lunch and got to meet two homeowners who were very excited to see volunteers. The second house had 20 foot ceilings! The second group (Christina, Kara, Josh, Kelli, Athena,) went and scored some awesome cornbread and saw a house being remodeled (by the residents Doris, Boris, and Morris). Green Light New Orleans told us that we helped residents save $8,050 in energy costs and reduce their carbon footprint by 78,225 pounds of CO2 After volunteering we all went out to Frenchman Street were we listened to some classic jazz with our crew of Australian friends from the hostel.

Thursday December 16th
Today was an exhausting yet exhilarating day. We volunteered with second Harvest Food Bank where we packed 1,000 boxes full of food to hand out to families for Christmas. We packed the boxes full of canned goods, fruit, potatoes, bread, vegetables, and pasta. It took a full six hours to pack all of the boxes. It was tough but we powered through and finished all 1,000 boxes. We talked with some locals while we were working and had a group from Capital One join for a few hours to help out. We went to an awesome lunch at Nacho Mama’s and had some excellent taco salads and nachos. Continuing with delicious food we went to dinner at a great Creole café called Neyows where we had some fried chicken, mac and cheese, and bread pudding. Full of good food we’re now headed to Frenchman Street again to listen to a great trumpet player. Talk to you again soon!