How to start this entry without just repeatedly typing "Awesome"?
Seriously had a fantastic day full of camaraderie, service, laughter and hard work.
7:45am
We showed up at the building all "Day of Caring" volunteers meet up at in the morning. Over 300+ volunteers from various non profits and local businesses registered and showed up! All of them wearing the shirts that the AmeriCorps team spent a day tie dying. They looked better on bodies then they did on the hangers.
8:15am
All volunteers head to their perspective service sites for the day. These sites consisted of many non profit organization that needed yard work, deep cleaning, painting and various other general maintenance jobs that get left undone do to little man power and time constraints. Cherry and I carpooled with two other ladies. We laughed the whole drive to our service site!
8:30am
We arrive at our service site, which happens to be a local support shelter. We spend the first 15 minutes getting organized, signing confidentiality agreements and then we are dispersed to our perspective tasks. Cherry (who is now on crutches)stays outside while I'm sent inside (typical). My task is to wash windows with 3 others. We wip through this task in about 20 minutes! So we take to deep cleaning the kitchen.
11:30am
We finished everything we could at the moment, and so I headed to our team leader for new tasks. Part of our team was tearing...peeling...chipping off foam matting that had been glued to pavement. (who does that?) So while the team leader asked us all to go that area to help...I was the only one who did. One found another tasks she liked better, the other was getting sick...Oh...and the other actually began working on cleaning the outside windows which involved a 16 foot long squeegee!
12-1pm Lunch!
Boxes were flipped over, chairs appeared at of thing air and we all ate pizza hut provided to us by the support shelter, and drank pop and water. Everybody was pretty tired at this point. Some didn't want to sit down because they weren't sure they'd be able to get up. The work we were doing was pretty physiclly demaning involving, bending, stooping, lots of upper arm strength and more.
1pm
I joined the ranks of the pavement chippers. I did that until about 2pm when my right hand had gone numb from the work and my left hand couldn't stand being hit with the hammer anymore. I would get so focused on the glue and foam I'd be watching that instead of my hand...and then after the right one began to give out...the left one began to get hit more often. It's so swollen right now! lol.
2pm
I became official garbage sack person. Holding it for those who were sweeping, taking it around and making sure all the garbage was cleaned up. Not a very fancy job, but one I saw a need for.
2:30pm
Transit back to the volunteer building. One word....laughter!
2:45pm
More chairs had been put up and "ALL" the volunteers who slowly trickled in from their service sites took a seat. The gathering crowd wasn't nearly as loud and energetic as it was a the beginning of the day. People looked worn out, dirty and sore! Yet, everyone was smiling and in good spirits. We heard some really cool service stories from the day, and then began the raffle for various items that had been donated. There was a candy bouquet, an amazing spa treatment package (donated by the local spa who closed down their business to participate in the Day of Caring Event!)toilet paper, paper towels, 100$ visa gift card and more.
There are some pretty amazing raffle items listed above...yet the one that got the most applause...that caused the most commotion was the toilet paper! It's become legendary to covet the toilet paper give away at the DoC! lol.
AmeriCorps members one the toilet paper and paper towels!! Lol
I talked to the director of the DoC project. I asked a about a service slide show at the end of the day. She said they had done that in years previous. I said I would love to help with that project next year...and she grinned, grabbed my shoulders and said "You got it! Then your the person to head it up!". lol
This day is what service is all about. Giving all you can, whether it's more or less then others doesn't matter. It's about serving to the best of your ability and knowing that your making a difference! It's renewed my heart for service. It's energized my soul and I can't wait to get this year started!!
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