hmejak

[hmejak]

NOLA, we will be back soon :)

[hmejak]

'Creating active citizens, one trip at a time'. The Alternative Break experience provides BW students the opportunity to break from the norm and spend a break volunteering with students around the United States. Each service trip focuses on a social justice issue and educates students about becoming active citizens working for change. Each trip is planned and led by a BW student. A BW faculty or staff advisor also participates with each trip. Alternative Break trips are a great way to make a difference, explore a new city, learn new skills, and meet people with similar interests.

Baldwin Wallace University

[hmejak]

When I first decided to go on this spring break service trip, I was nervous to say the least. I was challenging myself to travel somewhere that ive never been with a group of women that I didnt know. Yet, this experience was one of the best things that I ever did in my life. Which is why I plan on attending another AB Trip and hope to lead one to NOLA one day. 

The wonderful women that I now call my friends, pushed me to grow personally and as a leader throughout this week long trip. We used teamwork to accomplish goals and socialize with many different individuals. We were adults out in the world challenging ourselves to help and to do better for the first time. This trip had its challenges but I would not trade any of it for the world. It allowed me to have a tremendous amount of personal and social growth within my relationships that have set the tone for my future. I was able to strengthen my social, communication, organization, and leadership skills by diving head first into challenges and creating solutions to problems for those around me.

[hmejak]

NOLA explodes with life, laughter, music, and art which we were truly lucky to experience first hand. It allowed us to further open our minds to other cultures, perspectives and ways of doing things. We embraced every opportunity with open arms and allowed each other to grow with the environment around us. 

One day we took a trip to a local museum dedicated to the history of NOLA after hurricane Katrina. We learned about the history of the land and its people. They are still struggling today from the horrible lasting effects of this natural disaster and horrific government limitations. We learned that instead of helping the residents of NOLA, the government wished to remove “low income” families from their homes instead of helping them rebuild. The effects of the hurricane were also predicted and warned before hand yet the government chose not to strengthen their defenses thus causing more damage to the area. Why are we not taught about this? It was and has been swept under the rug and we are led to believe that this is a “dirty” place when that is extremely far from the truth. This challenged us to think more independently and not to believe everything that we are told. Instead we began researching on our own and brainstorming plans to further assist the community.  

[hmejak]

While in NOLA we had the opportunity to serve the community by assisting in construction for a community garden, organizing and stocking a local food bank, and volunteering at Second Harvest. While our initial work was small, it had a large impact on the community. The community garden provided a safe haven of relaxation and food donation for those that may need extra assistance during hard times or simply as a place to relax or occupy their time. The food bank and Second harvest provided meals for those that were struggling long-term or temporarily. While we did not have a direct impact on community members, it please us to know that we were still able to provide service in some way to make their lives just a little bit better. 

[hmejak]

My team and I stopped at Cafe Du Monde in NOLA during our service trip for our fight against hunger. It was great to experience how different NOLA’s culture was compared to our own even though were only 1,000 miles apart. The city and the art are incredibly beautiful and allowed us to have a deeper understanding of complex social situations. 

We learned that after hurricane Katrina struck havoc on this wonderful city, hordes of volunteers flooded the streets. While the meaning behind it was nice since people wanted to help, there was research conducted that much more could have been re-built and saved if money was simply donated. This impacted our view on service and what a community truly needed verses what people think they need. This is considered the hero complex where people often do what they think is best but ultimately it does not have the impact that was intended since it was not exactly what the community needed at that time. What happened to NOLA is a prime example of this.