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News Detail
DAY THREE IN MEMPHIS
Continued to work hard in the Memphis community!
Peter Hunnewell - Today, I went to Hope House, a non-profit supporting those living with HIV. AT Hope House I raked millions of leaves for 3 hours. At first it was relaxing; I had a nice pile going and it reminded me a lot of when I picked up leaves with my dad when I was younger. My rake was getting a little clustered with leaves that were impeding my ability to properly rake the leaves. I pulled the end of the rake up to my face and began to pull each of the leaves off starting from the left of the rake to the right. When I got to the right, I noticed this gray rope looking thing rapped around the ends of the rake. “Hmm, how did a rope wind up in the yard?” I pondered. I then pressed on the rope and took it off of the rake. The rope began to coil around my finger without my control, it was then I noticed the scales. I threw it into the pile and screamed “SNAKE!” I successfully overreacted and got everyone’s attention. I realized it wasn’t a big deal the thing was about half a foot long, so I picked it up with my rake from the pile. The snake played dead, and it tricked me, I felt so guilty, but I still placed it in a bush and luckily, I saw it slither away. I continued to rake in the nearby area; right next to where I found the snake I cautiously raked until I found another one. This one was angry. It recoiled back in an S-shape form like rattlesnakes do in nature documentaries. It looked like the same species of snake, so I knew it was really harmless. I picked it up again and placed it in that same bush and continued my job. I kept raking cautiously around but found no more snakes.
Angelica Duran - Hi parents! The story I want to share with you all today is about my time at Room at The Inn. My group and I had our day cooking for a large number of people at the shelter and we couldn’t have been more grateful for this amazing opportunity. The small and large moments we were able to experience while serving the community were filled with excitement. However, a rather small moment that I want to specifically focus on was having the opportunity to spend time with a five-year-old girl at the shelter. As soon as my group and I came out of the kitchen to distribute plates of food she ran up to each of us and greeted everyone with an embracing hug. She then went on to make conversations with each and every one of us, not to mention play countless games which kept a smile on everyone’s face. I was almost speechless at the fact that this young girl, so small in age, had such a lasting impact on every person she encountered. This made me think twice about the way in which I not only greet but also interact with others. I now understand that aspects such as age do not have to interfere with the way we interact with one another.
Taryn Smith - Today’s Tuesday, 4th day of February. It was a bit rainy out today, but despite that. I actually enjoyed today. The past two days have been a little rough for me, for many reasons, but today I found it a bit easier to navigate throughout my peers, the tasks, and other assignments. We showed up at a farm today and helped cleaned one of many segments filled to the brim with trash of all sorts. The main type of trash I kept coming across happened to be bottles. While trashing these, I learned the state of Tennessee doesn’t recycle. We also went to the food bank, where I felt incredibly useful for once, as I caught on quickly to how to sort and box foods. For a story, we walked into a diner tonight, where 3 men sat among instruments. There was another man in the diner, as well as a lady who tended the bar. The men played the first part of their set, and I felt my body sink into the wooden chair. I let the music surround myself, my ears, my body, and I let all my worries, my fears, and my drainers, fade away so I could really feel the beat. Of course it would have to end a few notes later, but in the very moment, I didn’t worry about my poor mom tending to my grandma, or if my sisters remembered to feed my XL cat, I just felt the rhythm flow through. The band was incredibly kind, which reminded me of my mother’s smile, the music was loud, similar to my cat, and my heart beat readily, as it does when I am with my family. I think little moments like these are what make us human. Humanity, I think, is not a test of how much we can do, but how much we can feel. I miss you mom, I’ll be home soon,
Quinlan Smythe – Today, we got a lot done and I felt like I was able to truly help and make a difference. This foggy morning, we spent a few hours at an urban farm that uses unwanted land to grow food. The farm’s founder, Theo, told us all about the farm and his goal to make it self-sufficient, as well as all the challenges he encounters along the way. It really struck me how much he has to constantly work to keep his farm going since he is relying on various donors and working hard to keep his property clean and pay wages for the workers. Today, we were able to help him out by cleaning up a stretch of his property that was trashed. I had a lot of fun picking up grocery bags, clothes, and bottles in the foggy morning, and I probably ended up picking up over 100 bottles from the mud. It was hard work, and it felt great to be able to see the field much cleaner when we were done and to make myself useful. At the end of the morning, it was great to hear how much Theo and the workers appreciated us even though we just gave a few hours of our time and effort to pick up trash, since it allowed them to focus on the farm and keep progressing. This morning really showed me how hard it is to create and sustain a program that really helps people to obtain food or other necessities, since it brings new challenges every day and requires constant effort and dedication.
Jenny Vu - Hi all! Today we started the day off the gloomy foggy day with yoga with Mrs. Cole. It was a great way to start the day off with few breaths and quality time as a group. Ten students then went to Hope House who serves people with HIV. We then helped clean up the property by raking leaves and cleaning up the lawn and porch. As they had about three buildings, this took a lot more time than we had anticipated. There were definitely points where we were running low on time and were stressed and worried that we would leave Hope House looking more messy than clean. With the help of all 12 of us total (including adults), we were able to get the majority of the lawn free of big piles of leaves. After a lunch break, we went to Mid-South Food Bank, where two groups were divided into date-checking, sorting, and packaging groups. It was a huge facility and the volunteer coordinator, Miranda, was just amazing. It was really heartwarming to see that there was so much food donated from big chain stores and locally. As day three comes to an end, I realize that community is so important not just here in Memphis, but in so many aspects of our day. From cooking, sorting, conversations, and comfort- community is the backbone to all of this.
Ms. Dorais - A Tree. Today we raked a million leaves, and I thought about this tree and the history that it has witnessed. I wondered if the tree was there as the Native Americans fled from De Soto and his Conquistadors. I wondered if the tree stood when the English arrived and when Andrew Jackson and Overton, and some another guy founded the city of Memphis. I wondered if the tree stood during the days of slavery; or when slavery was abolished in 1865 at the passage of the 13th Amendment? What did that tree witness at the end of Reconstruction? Did the Klan march in front of this tree? Did the tree feel the shock when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated? That tree must have witnessed so much hard history.
This tree now provides a welcome to those who head up the stairs to Hope House, I wonder what it will witness in the future. It is my hope that it will see the United States get closer to the lofty goal of “a more perfect union.”
Angelica Duran - Hi parents! The story I want to share with you all today is about my time at Room at The Inn. My group and I had our day cooking for a large number of people at the shelter and we couldn’t have been more grateful for this amazing opportunity. The small and large moments we were able to experience while serving the community were filled with excitement. However, a rather small moment that I want to specifically focus on was having the opportunity to spend time with a five-year-old girl at the shelter. As soon as my group and I came out of the kitchen to distribute plates of food she ran up to each of us and greeted everyone with an embracing hug. She then went on to make conversations with each and every one of us, not to mention play countless games which kept a smile on everyone’s face. I was almost speechless at the fact that this young girl, so small in age, had such a lasting impact on every person she encountered. This made me think twice about the way in which I not only greet but also interact with others. I now understand that aspects such as age do not have to interfere with the way we interact with one another.
Taryn Smith - Today’s Tuesday, 4th day of February. It was a bit rainy out today, but despite that. I actually enjoyed today. The past two days have been a little rough for me, for many reasons, but today I found it a bit easier to navigate throughout my peers, the tasks, and other assignments. We showed up at a farm today and helped cleaned one of many segments filled to the brim with trash of all sorts. The main type of trash I kept coming across happened to be bottles. While trashing these, I learned the state of Tennessee doesn’t recycle. We also went to the food bank, where I felt incredibly useful for once, as I caught on quickly to how to sort and box foods. For a story, we walked into a diner tonight, where 3 men sat among instruments. There was another man in the diner, as well as a lady who tended the bar. The men played the first part of their set, and I felt my body sink into the wooden chair. I let the music surround myself, my ears, my body, and I let all my worries, my fears, and my drainers, fade away so I could really feel the beat. Of course it would have to end a few notes later, but in the very moment, I didn’t worry about my poor mom tending to my grandma, or if my sisters remembered to feed my XL cat, I just felt the rhythm flow through. The band was incredibly kind, which reminded me of my mother’s smile, the music was loud, similar to my cat, and my heart beat readily, as it does when I am with my family. I think little moments like these are what make us human. Humanity, I think, is not a test of how much we can do, but how much we can feel. I miss you mom, I’ll be home soon,
-T
Quinlan Smythe – Today, we got a lot done and I felt like I was able to truly help and make a difference. This foggy morning, we spent a few hours at an urban farm that uses unwanted land to grow food. The farm’s founder, Theo, told us all about the farm and his goal to make it self-sufficient, as well as all the challenges he encounters along the way. It really struck me how much he has to constantly work to keep his farm going since he is relying on various donors and working hard to keep his property clean and pay wages for the workers. Today, we were able to help him out by cleaning up a stretch of his property that was trashed. I had a lot of fun picking up grocery bags, clothes, and bottles in the foggy morning, and I probably ended up picking up over 100 bottles from the mud. It was hard work, and it felt great to be able to see the field much cleaner when we were done and to make myself useful. At the end of the morning, it was great to hear how much Theo and the workers appreciated us even though we just gave a few hours of our time and effort to pick up trash, since it allowed them to focus on the farm and keep progressing. This morning really showed me how hard it is to create and sustain a program that really helps people to obtain food or other necessities, since it brings new challenges every day and requires constant effort and dedication.
Jenny Vu - Hi all! Today we started the day off the gloomy foggy day with yoga with Mrs. Cole. It was a great way to start the day off with few breaths and quality time as a group. Ten students then went to Hope House who serves people with HIV. We then helped clean up the property by raking leaves and cleaning up the lawn and porch. As they had about three buildings, this took a lot more time than we had anticipated. There were definitely points where we were running low on time and were stressed and worried that we would leave Hope House looking more messy than clean. With the help of all 12 of us total (including adults), we were able to get the majority of the lawn free of big piles of leaves. After a lunch break, we went to Mid-South Food Bank, where two groups were divided into date-checking, sorting, and packaging groups. It was a huge facility and the volunteer coordinator, Miranda, was just amazing. It was really heartwarming to see that there was so much food donated from big chain stores and locally. As day three comes to an end, I realize that community is so important not just here in Memphis, but in so many aspects of our day. From cooking, sorting, conversations, and comfort- community is the backbone to all of this.
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