Okay, maybe not, but we had a great time.
Shortly after arriving at Shared Harvest at 7:30 yesterday morning, we took off for the Animal Friends Humane Society in Hamilton. We arrived right on time at 8 A.M. and immediately got to work. Because the next animal safety orientation/training was not for another few weeks, we had to steer clear of the kitties and stick to the laundry and dishes.
At first, it wasn't so bad. We folded 2 loads of clean towels and blankets from the big industrial-sized dryer and even moved over a load from the washer. But the real fun began when we started loading the washer with the dirty towels and blankets. And by dirty I mean pee-, poop-, and hair-covered. Fortunately we had latex gloves, but Alex and I were convinced that the smell stayed on us the rest of the day. By that point there was nothing else to do but wait for the laundry to finish, so we ventured on to our next task.
The laundry room at the animal shelter. All things considered, we made a pretty good dent in the heaps of towels and blankets!Our next task--washing dishes--was considerably cleaner. Alex scrubbed the crusty dog and kitty food from the bowls in a large sink, and I loaded and emptied the bowls in a big dishwasher. I could fit 5 bowls in a flat at a time and it took about 45 seconds for the dishwasher to do a complete cycle, so we were able to get through quite a few bowls! All in all, this wasn't my favorite project (who really enjoys cleaning up after animals?) but we know that our service allowed for the shelter's employees and volunteers to focus on caring for the animals. Besides, somebody has to do the dirty work!
We stayed at the shelter for about an hour and a half before it was time to move on. Our next stop was the Booker T. Washington Community Center in Southeast Hamilton for an MLK Jr. Day march! We arrived around 9:45 A.M., expecting the march to begin at 10 A.M. as advertised in the Hamilton Journal-News. However, the march did not actually begin until about 10:45 A.M., so we spent a good hour sipping tea and relaxing in the warmth. Finally someone decided it was time to go, so we made our way outside and assembled in the street.
People gathered outside of the Booker T. Washington Center for a peaceful march to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Our route took us up Front Street to High St., east on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., south on Pershing, and finally west on Second St. In other words, we marched about 2.5 miles in the street! We had police escorts the entire way, and as we marched, people sang songs, talked with one another, and waved at passersby. My favorite part about the march was that there were so many different people present, each sharing in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream of civil rights and social justice for all people. Our country still has a long way to go in achieving true equality for everyone, but it's days like this that I know we're headed in the right direction.
Marching down High St. on MLK, Jr. Day!
The march concluded with services at the Christ Temple Church of God in Christ on 2nd St., but Alex and I had to keep moving if we wanted to get in a full day of service! We had a quick lunch, then stopped at the Walgreens on Dixie Highway to pick up a few last minute donations for the YWCA Battered Women's Shelter! The store manager gave us a gift card and we were able to pick out some items from the wishlist with the money. Oh and did I mention how awesome the students at Miami University in Hamilton are? They helped us out by collecting boxes of toiletry items for the care packages as well! Thanks so much for all of your help, everyone!
Our next stop was up to the Atrium Hospital in Middletown. Martha was in a pretty serious car accident last week and was going to have surgery on her back. We have been thinking about her quite a bit, and we decided what better day to visit her than on the Day of Service! Alex and I stopped at a Kroger store to buy some flowers, a card, and a vase, which we hoped would bring a little cheer to her day.
However, when we arrived, we found that Martha was in surgery, so we weren't able to visit with her. We left the flowers with her mom who was waiting outside of the OR and went on our way. Feel better, Martha!
At that point, we drove on down to Cincinnati to pack up the donations for the Battered Women's Shelter. We were a little early so we grabbed a cup of tea at Panera before arriving at a woman named Barb's house. About ten other volunteers gathered, each bringing boxes and bags of donated items. We chowed down on some snacks, then sorted all of the items into piles by category. We formed an assembly line of sorts, and then packed one item from each category into paper bags. I'm not sure how many bags we ended up with, but here are some pictures:
Sorting the items was half the battle! We had a ton of soap, toothpaste, and lotion, among other necessary items.
This is Liz--she organized this whole thing!
Everyone was so excited to help! The assembly line hard at work.
These ladies are awesome!
Marching down High St. on MLK, Jr. Day!
The march concluded with services at the Christ Temple Church of God in Christ on 2nd St., but Alex and I had to keep moving if we wanted to get in a full day of service! We had a quick lunch, then stopped at the Walgreens on Dixie Highway to pick up a few last minute donations for the YWCA Battered Women's Shelter! The store manager gave us a gift card and we were able to pick out some items from the wishlist with the money. Oh and did I mention how awesome the students at Miami University in Hamilton are? They helped us out by collecting boxes of toiletry items for the care packages as well! Thanks so much for all of your help, everyone!
Our next stop was up to the Atrium Hospital in Middletown. Martha was in a pretty serious car accident last week and was going to have surgery on her back. We have been thinking about her quite a bit, and we decided what better day to visit her than on the Day of Service! Alex and I stopped at a Kroger store to buy some flowers, a card, and a vase, which we hoped would bring a little cheer to her day.However, when we arrived, we found that Martha was in surgery, so we weren't able to visit with her. We left the flowers with her mom who was waiting outside of the OR and went on our way. Feel better, Martha!
At that point, we drove on down to Cincinnati to pack up the donations for the Battered Women's Shelter. We were a little early so we grabbed a cup of tea at Panera before arriving at a woman named Barb's house. About ten other volunteers gathered, each bringing boxes and bags of donated items. We chowed down on some snacks, then sorted all of the items into piles by category. We formed an assembly line of sorts, and then packed one item from each category into paper bags. I'm not sure how many bags we ended up with, but here are some pictures:
Sorting the items was half the battle! We had a ton of soap, toothpaste, and lotion, among other necessary items.
This is Liz--she organized this whole thing!
Everyone was so excited to help! The assembly line hard at work.
These ladies are awesome! All in all, the Battered Women's Shelter project was my favorite part of the day. We found the project on www.serve.gov, I believe, and it sounded cool so we signed up. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, but to our pleasant surprise, everyone was warm, inviting, and inclusive.
It was really fun to get involved in other projects in the community! We spend so much time focusing on our day to day duties with the Benefit Bank and the foodbank (and understandably so!) so it was nice to put our attention to other worthy service projects and endeavors yesterday. I only have about 5 months left as a VISTA, and I'm starting to realize just how many interests I have to explore when I'm finished! Although I don't know where I will end up, one thing is certain--I love serving in my community, no matter what the project entails.
It was really fun to get involved in other projects in the community! We spend so much time focusing on our day to day duties with the Benefit Bank and the foodbank (and understandably so!) so it was nice to put our attention to other worthy service projects and endeavors yesterday. I only have about 5 months left as a VISTA, and I'm starting to realize just how many interests I have to explore when I'm finished! Although I don't know where I will end up, one thing is certain--I love serving in my community, no matter what the project entails.
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