Within the past few months, I have been able to serve as an advisor for two separate Alternative Break Program trips. These trips are basically a week where students provide service to the community, usually in another city or state (or even country). I just returned from an alternative spring break trip to New Orleans. Oh, New Orleans! How I knew I needed to visit you again! This city just makes me so happy. Before I talk about NOLA, let me back up and talk about the trip that started it all: Mississippi.
In December, just about two weeks before Christmas, I drove a group of students to Pontotoc, Mississippi. We were supposed to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, but the home we were supposed to work in was infested by bugs so we weren't able to help out with it until the second to least day of our trip. What we ended up doing instead was working with a nonprofit organization called "Ashley's Angels." This group helps to provide food and Christmas gifts for needy families in the community. They raise thousands of dollars each year, and buy a bunch of gifts for the children in the families. Some of our volunteers had the fun opportunity to go and shop for the kids (Wal-Mart was the closest major store to us and I think we pretty much bought everything they had!). After getting all the gifts together, we put them in large trash bags and started to pull, stack, and organize them all into a large warehouse room. It seemed like the bags would be never-ending, which was awesome! It was an emotional day when the families came to pick up their gifts. They were so thankful, and I feel so blessed to have been part of such an amazing experience.
Some fun things we did while on our trip:
- Visit an Amish Farm in Pontotoc
- Enjoy some time at the local Piggly Wiggly supermarket. We all were so excited (okay, really just me) to visit. The manager was so nice that he came out and gave us a bunch of free Piggly Wiggly promotional items :)
- Attended a Christmas concert with one of our hosts at a local church - it was beautiful
- Visited Memphis on our day off: We saw the Mississippi River, Beale Street, ate at Central BBQ, visited the Martin Luther King Jr. site and motel
- Stopped by Tupelo to visit the birthplace of Elvis Presley
So, now on to New Orleans. I took nine young ladies to New Orleans, and we kicked some major booty. We stayed with an organization named "His Hands 2 Go." During our first two days, we volunteered our time with a community garden. It was hard work in the hot sun, but we definitely accomplished our goal, which was moving an entire garden bed that was originally in the shade into the sunlight. We learned that while New Orleans is a city known for its cuisine and restaurants, the city itself is considered a "food desert." This basically means that not all communities in the area have equal access to grocery stores and fresh foods. The community garden we were helping out with would help grow and provide fresh vegetables to the community. If you want to learn more about this garden, please visit their blog at www.gardenonmarais.blogspot.com.
We also helped an older gentleman with his home. We completely painted the inside of his home, as well as the front facade and gates of his home. The home was affected by Hurricane Katrina. What His Hands 2 Go does is provide volunteers that can help with labor. The homeowners they assist provide all of their own supplies, but they may not be able to afford to pay for labor, or they may not be able to complete the project themselves due to age or disability. It was an honor helping Mr. Franklin with his home. He was the sweetest, most gentle soul and I think all of us were incredibly sad to say goodbye. It is my hope that he will be able to move into his home soon - this is his New Orleans home and it's crazy to think that he's still waiting to get back into it after seven years!
We were very well-fed. We ate up ten pounds of crawfish real quick! The church also served us red beans and rice, and jambalaya. Yuuuummmmyyyy!!
Fun things we did in New Orleans:- Ate beignets at Cafe Du Monde
- Walked through the French Market and French quarter for some shopping
- Visited Steamboat Willie's on Bourbon Street. We also got thrown beads and feather boas on Bourbon Street!
- Took the trolley through the Garden District
- Walked to a place called "The End of the World" by the levees
- Visited the Katrina and Mardi Gras museum
- Took the ferry ride across the Mississippi
- Ate sno-balls!
All of the students I met on these trips were wonderful. I feel so blessed to have been able to participate as a faculty advisor. I know that these wonderful individuals will go on to complete awesome things in the future. I miss them all already! On a side note, I think I have become quite the professional van driver!
