Home Sweet Home

Day 8

Today was a very bittersweet day for our crew. Though we were sad to leave Kentucky, we were excited to come home to Erie and share our experiences with those around us. This morning we finished up our cleaning responsibilities and pack the cars for our departure. We left Richmond around 8:30am and watched as we left the Habitat Lodge fade away behind us.


While traveling we listened to all of our favorite songs from before and after the trip. We laughed as we reflected from the week of work and enriching new relationships. Most of us read our affirmation letters from the rest of the group and it was a great feeling seeing how we each impacted each other. Alicia said, "Getting to read how our relationships grew throughout the week was special and one of the best experiences of this week."

We stopped for lunch in Ohio at Panera. It was a nice break from sitting in the car and was nice to once again laugh with our entire group. We talked about different things that happened in the few hours we were separated. After lunch we headed back on our trek to Erie, stopping only once more to stretch our legs and use the restroom.

While approaching Erie, each car listened to our favorite songs from the trip and celebrated making it home safely. We want to thank Austin and Emily specifically for giving their time and energy to this trip. They made it all the more special and meaningful. The work would not have been the same without them. Austin and Emily were gracious enough to drop each student off at their respected residence halls so that they did not have to carry all their luggage far. It felt very nice to return back to our rooms for quick showers before we all came back together at Amanda's apartment for dinner.

The rest of the night was filled with games, laughter, and Jimmy John's. Overall, this trip has touched and affected each and every one of our lives. The memories and experiences that have developed throughout this week will never be forgotten. Thank you to Amanda and David for being the best leaders and always pushing us to be the best that we can be! We can speak for everyone by saying this was an amazing week and we are all sad that it is over. Until next time, Richmond.

Finishing Friday with Fantastic Fajitas

Day 7

Today we were split into two different groups for todays projects; one team went to the warehouse and the Restore while the other went to one of the Habitat houses again to finish up some work.

The first team included Amanda, Austin, Stephen, Claire, Grace, and Kaisa. At the beginning of the day, they went to an old warehouse that Habitat bought to load bags of concrete into a truck. Then they continued to clean up other various things around the lot and got to explore the inside. It was freaky. Afterwards, the group went to the Restore to finish up painting the walls there. Even though it was cold at the beginning of the day, the group continued to encourage each other and stayed positive.

The second team included David, Emily, Brynn, Tim, Marie, Julia, Alicia, and Tierney. Here, the group got several big projects completed that we started on Monday. This included finishing the cabinets and new vinyl flooring. These were huge tasks that everyone wanted to see finished and it was very rewarding to see it all completed. While other projects were being completed, Tim got to work with Marty on fixing up the siding and putting a new window in.

By the end of our last day, everyone was exhausted. We all headed back to the lodge to meet up with the Habitat for Humanity staff to go have a closing ceremony. Our group was really crunched for time, so after we finished, Austin, Brynn, Marie, Alicia, and Tierney ran upstairs to cook some delicious chicken and fish fajitas. The rest of the crew got to work cleaning up the lodge. It was in our trip's covenant to leave the places better than we found it. Austin said, "The last day was definitely the busiest but we have gotten so good at working together during this week! Making chicken and fish fajitas was no problem at all."

Following dinner we all went to volunteer at Surge's Night out with the First Responders! Amanda, Stephen, and Claire had been helping set up for most of the afternoon and so it was amazing to see these three step up and help teach our group. We were in charge of concessions as well as selling tickets to the community. This was an event that was raising awareness for Habitat for Humanity's First Responders Build. The event included opportunities for children get in firetrucks, police cars, and ambulances. In addition, they could print their own shirts as Surge is a local screen printing company. They closed out the event with a showing of Incredibles 2.

We ended the day with a closing reflection as well as last minute packing for our trip home tomorrow. Everyone has expressed sadness in these final days but joy for the experiences we have shared in. 

Smore's on a Thursday

Day 6

Once again, today we were split into two groups of seven for today's projects; one team was sent to work on leveling a crawlspace at one of the Habitat houses while the other was sent to fill in dirt at another property and to work at the Restore.

The first team included Amanda, Austin, Tim, Claire, Stephen, Julia and Kaisa. At the start of the day, they prepared the crawlspace by beginning to remove excess wet clay and concrete from the area. Then, while Amanda, Julia, and Stephen continued to remove the clay, Austin, Claire, Kaisa, and Tim went to wheelbarrow gravel down into the space. It was quite a workout! The group took turns on each task and encouraged each other the entire time.

When lunchtime rolled around, the group was more than ready to eat! Provided by a local church, the lunch consisted of sandwiches, chili, chips, crackers, brownies and cookies. Once our tummies were full and our bodies were rested, the group went back to work. Tim and Austin began to help with the tresses of the porch while the rest of the group continued to remove mud and wheelbarrow gravel. At the end of the day, they were all covered in mud and the crawlspace was covered in gravel!

When they were walking back to the car, the group realized that they were too dirty and would have to figure out a way to keep the car clean. Everyone was covered head to toe in clay and were able to strip some of the dirty shirt layers but obviously would have to find another alternative for their pants. Amanda and Austin decided that it would be in their best interest to create pants for everyone out of garbage bags! Claire was the only one who actually had other pants with her, so to her, the rest of the group looked like goofs. The group had a blast though and made some one-of-a-kind memories.

The second team included David, Emily, Marie, Grace, Brynn, Alicia, and Tierney. First, they went to a home to level the yard by moving dirt from a large pile to the area under the porch.

Grace, Marie, Brynn, and Tierney shoveled the dirt and loaded the wheelbarrows, while Emily and David worked on pushing it under the porch. Alicia cleaned up the backyard from dead brush. 

Then, they went to the Re-Store, where they painted the walls to give the store a more vibrant ambience and unloaded the truck full of items for the store to fix and sell.

They started by unloading the truck that included items like furniture, doors, mirrors, and other various household items. The team paired up to carry the heavy items from the truck into the store.

David painted the trim of the blue wall. The new paint gave the store a beautiful new look to invite families to the store. 

Grace, Marie, and Emily team up to paint the bottom of the wall gray. Alicia and Tierney worked on painting the top part of the wall blue. 

After a hard day's work, the team heads to visit their volunteer coordinator Hope, where they had a bonfire at Hope's home. The group made pizza and smore's and sat around the fire. They all participated in "roses, thorns, and buds," meaning the best and worst part of the day, as well as something they look forward to the next day. 

Half-Day Ash-(Wednes)Day

Day 5

It was a beautiful and sunny day in Richmond today! The group was split into two teams again. A group of eight returned to the original site for a third day to continue with the flooring, adding finishing touches to the cabinets, and replacing an exterior window. This group consisted of student-leader David, participants Brynn, Julia, Grace, Stephen, Marie, Tim, and accompanier Emily. Emily and Stephen worked outside the house on ladders removing siding, prying nails, and replacing a window. Julia, Grace, and Marie meticulously worked on finishing the kitchen cabinets and applying the final coat of paint. Brynn, David, and Tim continued to lay flooring in the living room today.

The second group consisted of a team of six: student-leader Amanda, participants Claire, Kaisa, Tierney, Alicia, and accompanier Austin. The team spent a chilly but sunny day outside working cleaning up the yard of a new Habitat for Humanity house. Claire, Kaisa, Tierney, and Austin spent their time in the front yard chipping at the frozen ground with pickaxes to move piles of dirt under the porch to level it out. Lots of heavy lifting and shoveling resulted in a rewarding finish in the front yard. Amanda and Alicia worked in the backyard cleaning out dead brush and trees. Amanda was excited to use a saw and Alicia hauled the wood piles around to the front as they worked to clean up the backyard. The landscaping team was later joined by the homeowner, Carlos. "He was very appreciative of the work we were doing, and was surprised how we were spending our spring break. We wouldn't have it any other way!" expressed Amanda.




Both groups took a break for lunch and met around noon for some time to debrief on individual experiences, and were joined by some friendly neighborhood cats! Carlos spent
lunch visiting with the rest of the group and expressed not only gratitude, but also his amazement at how we were spending our spring break.

Our day of work wrapped up early to allow the Habitat for Humanity staff/volunteers as well as members of our team to practice Ash Wednesday. Having some free time today allowed us to enjoy the sunshine by playing corn hole and relaxing while watching a movie. After cleaning the dirt, paint, and dust off ourselves, we gathered together to discuss and reflect. Today our focus was part two of last night's topic of socioeconomic issues that Appalachian people face in their daily lives.

This evening Saint Marks Church hosted us for a delicious fish fry dinner. While there we even met a friendly woman with a unique last name... Gannon! Everyone has been so thrilled to welcome our Gannon team, but Ms. Gannon showed a special excitement when meeting our group.

After dinner, seven group members took part in a Methodist Service and five attended a Catholic Mass. Tim remarked that his experience at the Methodist Church was, "...really calming and it felt good to connect more with Habitat volunteers. Charlene and Mike, two of our contacts, were attending the service as well, and it was great to see them." The group was welcomed by the pastor and thanked for the work we've been completing. All in all, the day was full of laughter and fun experiences. Our love for Richmond Kentucky continues to grow!

Two-and-a-Half Groups Tuesday

Day 4


For today, our group of 14 was split into two groups of seven. This was to ensure that we help in multiple ways throughout our trip and to work as effectively as possible.

The first group went to the same site as yesterday to work on the bigger projects like the cabinets and the flooring. Julia, Grace, and Marie started painting the cabinets and are going back tomorrow to finish the last coat and hopefully put on the doors. Claire, David, and Alicia finished the flooring in two of the bedrooms while also touching up walls, doors, and trimming. After lunch, Josh came up to David and applauded the group on their hard work. He said that they were not expecting to get the flooring or the cabinets done this week and we are more than halfway done with each of those tasks! As a token of gratitude, he allowed David to write something on the plywood of the house that would be covered later with the flooring. We then signed our names under the beautiful words that David wrote so the house would always be a part of us and we would always be a part of the house.

The second group worked on a variety of tasks throughout the day. We started out by cutting out pamphlets for a movie-night fundraiser that Habitat is putting on for Friday, which will be explained more in a later blog. The group then made their way to downtown to distribute these pamphlets to the local establishments. To finish the morning, they stopped at a local coffee shop called Purdy's and then split into two groups.

Amanda, Stephen, and Tierney headed off to a vacant lot that was full of trash. For three hours they picked up all kinds of trash including five tires and a mattress. Amanda even had to get in a hole in the ground that was half filled with water to pull out the garbage. After completing the section, they traveled with our contact Amos to dispose of the all of the items. This included taking some to the trash compactor and having the satisfaction of watching it all get crushed. Once all of the deliveries were done, they met the other half of their group of seven.

Emily, Brynn, Tim, and Kaisa had headed directly to Habitat's Re-store and spent their whole day there. This is a second hand store that sells everything except for clothes. Items here run at a discounted price and are donated if no one purchases them. Here they met an awesome employee, Nicole, who guided us through the day. Our first task was to clean recently donated items and put them out on the show floor. We cleaned a variety of items such as cabinets, tables, chairs, and even an air hockey table. Once Amanda, Stephen, and Tierney arrived, the rest of the day consisted of a lot of painting. Last years Habitat ABST group painted a side of a door that the Re-Store has used as a divider ever since. Nicole then offered for us to paint the same door but the opposite side! Kaisa and Stephen worked on this the majority of the afternoon. Brynn, Tierney, Amanda, Emily, and Tim painted a wall a new shade of gray. We finished the day by taking pictures with Nicole and other employees.

 After a solid day of work, we all met back at the lodge and got ready to go to dinner. Dinner was provided at the Catholic Campus Ministry's Newman Center at Eastern Kentucky University. It was wonderful to see another college and hear about their experiences so far! Overall, today was another day filled with laughter and working to make a difference in so many lives, including our own.

Orientation Monday

Day 3

For Monday we started off the day bright and early by waking up at 7:30 to arrive for our orientation at 8:00. Our orientation started off with eating breakfast with the Habitat for Humanity volunteer staff. We got to introduce ourselves, get acquainted with everyone, and most importantly, fill up our bellies with delicious doughnuts and homemade quiche! After breakfast we reviewed Habitat for Humanity's mission statement which is "Seeking to put God's love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope".

We then reflected on the mission statement and learned more about the Kentucky area that we will be serving. They also gave us a little history lesson from one of the more experienced volunteers, Guy. He spoke to us about the founding of Habitat for Humanity by Millard and Linda Fuller and how important the work we do for the community is. After our orientation was finished and we learned more about what we were going to do for the day we headed out to get to work!

On our first day at the site, we were able to contribute to the development of the house in so many areas! Some of us got right to work by painting the interior of the house, while others took their tools outside to prepare the porch for a makeover. Additionally, the kitchen cupboards were primed and painted. Some of the dirty work for the day came with cleaning out the "crawl space" under the house, which consisted of removing tile pieces and broken furniture. One of the biggest accomplishments was completing the flooring in one of the bedrooms! It was such a pleasant experience working with Mike, Hope, and Josh- the Habitat for Humanity volunteer construction staff. Without their guidance, our progress would not have been half as successful.

 

While we were working, we received a visit from the woman who will be living in the Habitat for Humanity home. Our group had the opportunity to get to know her personally by asking her questions and sharing information about ourselves, too. Her gratefulness was evident in the way she spoke to us and told her story. She was so excited, she even asked to take progress pictures to show her mother! Fortunately, we were able to grab a quick picture with her, too!

After the productive work day, our group headed back to rest, reflect, and seek out the showers. Once everyone got settled and dinner was being made, students began to converse and reflect on their experiences throughout the day. Amanda and David led us in some deep exercises focused on truly appreciating our work that we are doing and understanding how much this service affects the lives around us for the better. We discussed what poverty is and talked about affordable housing and how Habitat for Humanity helps home owners. In addition, we read about a specific family whose lives were transformed by the help of Habitat, and watched a "thank you" video from them as well. I just know that we can't wait to get back to work tomorrow!!

SUNDAY FUNDAY

Day 2

Today we started off our day pretty relaxed with a refreshing breakfast after yesterday's travels. You will never guess what the main course was...leftover donuts. We all had a great time bonding and had the chance to play some board games before Mass. As soon as we arrived at St. Mark Roman Catholic Church, they welcomed us right away and the priest even thanked and welcomed us personally during the service. They offered hospitality to us after which consisted coffee and you guessed it...MORE DONUTS. We not only left with the word of God, but we left with the extra donuts as well. 

After Mass, we went back to the lodge to center our thoughts and to continue community building through more games such as Apples to Apples. Since it was our free day, we wanted to do an activity that got us out of the lodge and continued that community building. Our group got together and decided that bowling was an awesome idea. Bowling was so much fun and we were all cheering each other on. At this point, we realized have become such a close-knit group because of this trip. A majority of the group was struggling with low scores and to help us feel better, Stephen mentioned: “Leaving two or three pins is a strike in this game.” It made us all feel better about our scores but we still had a blast.

We came out of the bowling alley with smiles on all of our faces and this happiness transpired to the food that we had prepared for dinner. Julia, Austin, and Alicia cooked an amazing dinner of stir-fry and wow it was so good. Once we finished cleaning up, we got together for a reflection on what community means. We watched a video on a community that has similar issues to Richmond. The video gave us the opportunity to see how they live in economic poverty but not spiritual or emotional poverty. This community gave an awesome insight on the people we will be working with. 

Tomorrow will be our first day actually on the work site and we are so excited for what it holds. We are beyond excited for what is in store for us during the upcoming week and we will be keeping you updated on this blog! Thank you all for supporting us during our adventure and stay tuned to hear about our great experiences! 

Kentucky Bound

Day 1 - Departure Day

Today we started off our day bright and early under the Gannon Arch to depart for Richmond, Kentucky! For those of you who have not heard, this past week we had an accompanier step out and another take her place. However, that did not stop her from seeing us off at the arch with four dozen donuts this morning for Grace's Birthday. Grace is one of the freshman Occupational Therapy Majors on our trip and the only birthday this week.

This morning we all met at 7:30am with some of the other trips traveling Haiti/Guatemala, Ruskin and Detroit. We all gathered for a group prayer and then began to pack into our two suburbans. With fourteen people across these vehicles, the six and a half hour drive turned into just over eight hours! While it was long, the morale of the group remained high. Thankfully both cars had an awesome group of people where we could sing to music at the top of our lungs and share a lot of laughs.

We only stopped three times on the trip: two times to stretch our legs and the other for lunch. The group decided that we wanted to get Chipotle and wow was that a good idea. After being in the car for four hours and having donuts as our main snack, it really hit the spot. Finally after another four hours in a tight suburban ride, we arrived at our lodging sight in Richmond, Kentucky. Austin said: "People always say it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. The car ride today was just that. It was the most fun on a road trip I have had in a while."


When we got inside, our student-leaders David and Amanda, surprised us with everyone's names on the door for their room. They were really cute decorations! After about an hour or so of unpacking and settling in, we headed off to the grocery store to stock up on food. We will be cooking our own meals most of the trip and had to plan everything out. Since there were so many of us, we separated into teams and shopped for each meal. It was a little stressful checking out with four carts but we made it! Our group then went back to our lodge and cooked a delicious meal of pasta and salad. It also really hit the spot.

The rest of the evening was full of playing board games together and just hanging out. We did a reflection to check in with how everyone was feeling after the day and what they were looking forward to. David and Amanda came up with the idea that we should each decorate a bag with our names and everyone will be writing uplifting notes to each other all week.

We are so excited for what the rest of the week has in store for us and we will be updating you all on this blog each night. Thank you all for supporting us on this trip and stay tuned to hear about our experiences!