Friday Blog - The NOLA Smorgasbord of Service

My ‘pre nola’ blog was about perspective... being fair to the situation at hand... appreciating the experience... as well as challenging each other (and ourselves) to ‘serve outside of our comfort zone’...

Now as the week comes to an end I’m reflecting back on my own words as I review my service experiences:

Monday - insulated a home.

Tuesday - completed some paperwork & packaged goods for a food bank.

Wednesday - sorted recycled beads.

Thursday - recycled paints and organized shelves.

Friday - sorted recycled beads.

And as I review the qualities of each nonprofit organized we worked with:

organized... happy... enthusiastic... passionate...

All in all, I learned so much about the needs of NOLA that don’t just consist of rebuilding of homes, but the area as a whole. As I think, I can’t help but compare it so greatly to what Bonner accomplishes in Trenton every day as we work in so many areas... helping the homeless, mentally challenged, environment... all of which we were able to do this week!

So I have declared this week my ‘Smorgasbord of Service,’ and I’m so happy to have embraced it, because in the end, we reached so many lives - not just a few families... thinking about it in numbers, a few examples: how within a few hours that we served at the food bank we packaged almost 9,000 lbs of food... within 3 days of sorting beads we easily recycled 15,000 lbs of Mardi Gras beads...

I believe strongly in the gift of gratitude. Tonight, on our last night here in New Orleans, I am grateful most importantly for the service, but also for the people I was able to share with it in. I created bonds with many new Bonners and strengthened those that have previously existed with others. I’m grateful to have been here to listen to the new Bonners’ experiences and thoughts, as well as take from my peers the true, honest realizations of what this week was... In the words of a fellow Bonner Scholar:

“This week we may not have rebuilt homes - we rebuilt lives.”

Bonner Love,

Danielle

Wednesday Blog - Inspiration

This past year I worked at a summer program Bonner held for high school students. They were a great group of kids and truly touched my heart as we served together in Trenton. We made many imprints on each other’s lives; yet since the camp, I haven’t taken any time to reflect upon their impact on me...

...Coming back from service in the middle of the week, we were all beginning to feel down about not being able to work consecutively on a home project for the entire week. Some days people found themselves doing physical labor at a nonprofit called Mission which helps the homeless population here. One day, many people, myself included, spoke openly on the van ride back about the “hard work” we had to do. We weren’t complaining - just mutually reflecting together and there seemed to be a lack of inspiration within our group. When we returned to our housing area, I laid down on my bed before dinner and looked for the most mindless activity to take up my 5 minute break: facebook...

I began looking through the pages of some of my students at the Bonner summer program. One girl who I admired dearly came to mind and I scrolled through her page. This is where I found a recent status of hers that stated:

“Every time I hear someone say life is hard, I want to challenge them to think ‘life is hard, but in comparison to what?’ ”

Suddenly I had my inspiration in the most unusual places, by a girl I was mentoring through her first service camp... It felt so ironic, yet needed.

Yes, our service was unusually challenging this week, but it is a blessing to have been given a life where we are able to work for others rather than being the people in need.

So, though this week wasn’t the work many have hoped for, we are blessed to have been serving the very amazing people of New Orleans and still making an important and beautiful difference in the area.

Bonner Love,

Danielle

Monday Blog - The start of another great week...

Beginning our first few days in NOLA, we did a few small tours around the area showing the Lower & Upper Ninth Wards, Levees, etc. As a chaperone of the trip, I’ve already been through these experiences, but this time I was driving and helping guide my van when I had a bit of extra knowledge. It was amazing to be here and see the passion to serve others increase within just a few hours of touring. The Bonner Scholars truly are an amazing group of individuals and I felt so ready for the work week!

Bonner Love,

Danielle

Some Pictures!

NOLA Trip - Part 1 of 2

I am excited to be back in New Orleans again. As many people know, this is one of my favorite cities and it is always more exciting for me to be able to show it to new visitors. We have a really large group here this year, which is great because of the amount of work we are going to be able to get done.

The drive down was long but the laughs and good conversations made it go by quick. When we arrived we got moving right away. The group went to the French Quarter to do a scavenger hunt to get to know the city and encourage students to talk to some of the locals. As many have mentioned, there were more than just locals here this weekend! Many, many, many football fans and lots of spontaneous cheers in the streets.

Saturday we were lucky to have some great weather for our driving tour of New Orleans. We drove out to Chalmette first to see some of the devastated parts of Saint Bernard Parish. Then we came back into New Orleans and visited the Lower Ninth Ward (where we walked up to the Bayou and the Levee), the Upper Ninth Ward, went to lunch at one of my favorite barbeque spots in New Orleans (the Joint), and continued uptown to the Garden District to see some of the old, beautiful houses.

Sunday was another very nice day and we all went out to explore the city a little more in the daytime. Many people got some souvenirs to bring home and enjoyed the local food! At night we came back together and did an activity to test how well each van got to know each other. Lots of laughs and fun!

Yesterday was out first day of work and it was great to get working after a fun weekend. We split into 5 groups to work on projects with the Saint Bernard Project (great organization, check them out! www.stbernardproject.org). The group I was in had 15 people total (Nick D, LeighAnn D, Adam P, Tiff, Chelsea S, Regina Z, Tim O, Chad B, Daria W, Billy L, Danielle C, Ryan G, Nicole G, Jamie, and me). We went out to a house that was between the lake and a bayou. There was not much out there. Of the few homes that were there, there weren’t many with people back. On our ride in, we passed an abandoned Six Flags. A very eerie site to see the attractions still standing.

At the house we met our two project leaders, Lisel and Megan, who led us to completed the insulation in the house. Everyone worked really hard but Jamie, Nick D, Adam, and LeighAnn took on, and completed, a very hard project in the ceiling. You guys are awesome! Overall it was a great first day of work and I really enjoyed working with the Bonners on the team!

Today is a rainy day here; so United Saints found other volunteer projects for us for the day. The group is volunteering at the Mission, the Food Bank, and the Arc. It will be interesting to see the similarities and differences between the organizations here and the ones at home.

I look forward to meeting homeowners this week and seeing my favorite homeowner from my first time here and really hope she will come speak to the group this week!

Stay tuned for pictures and videos (hopefully)!

NOLA blog

Coming back to New Orleans for a second time in the past year, I did not expect to have the same reaction as I did the first time. I came in May with no idea what condition the city has been in and I was in complete shock of the conditions down here. Since I new what to expect, I thought this time would be easier but as we drove in and I still say the destruction, I had to hold back tears. I know it has only been a couple of months since my last visit but for some reason I expected to see noticable changes.

This past week in NOLA has been such an incredible experience. I enjoyed really being able to go into the French Quarter and experience the culture. They take so much pride in their culture, especially their support for their football teams. It was so great to see how the city unites together in such a simple thing as a football game. Also, people here are so friendly. You cna walk by a random stranger and they will smile at you or say hello which is completely different from what I am used to. It was refreshing to see all this and really showed me how the people in NOLA are so strong and united, even after the destruction they faced. They really are appreciative of what we come here to do and it makes me even more excited to help out in whatever way I can while I am here.

Blog 3

This week’s work has been very different than my expectations. I’ve been doing a lot of little tasks, such as cleaning, painting, sanding, weeding, and moving things. Compared to building houses, these tasks seem to have little significance. But today I had a conversation with Vince—a 23 year old staff member at the New Orleans Rescue Mission. At the end of the day, Vince told me how happy it made him to see college students travelling to New Orleans to volunteer instead of coming to enjoy themselves in the French Quarter. Even the smallest task can impact a life/lives. The encounter encouraged me and gave me the strength to keep working with a confident and zealous attitude.

Nick