House Dedication and pictures

On Saturday November 20th, our Womens Build was dedicated to the Heather Roberts family. A small crowd with a big heart was present to see a house be turned into a home. Members of the affiliate, volunteers, family, neighbors, and more were a part of Heather's big day.

I am lucky to say that I was able to present a Bible to Heather, to symbolize the Faith it takes to build a home, the faith of the Roberts family in believing that time and effort would lead to an new home, the volunteers' faith in the mission of Habitat for Humanity and the faith that guided all of us to be there that day.

A number of other things were presented including a home repair booklet, quilts for each member of the family, extra tools, artwork to hang on the walls, a certificate for sweat equity, laundry detergent (a washer and dryer were donated), and more. The most important, however, before cutting the ribbon, was the key to the home. It was such an exciting day.

It continued with more joy as a few Habitat members, our Board President and extra volunteers distributed 20 turkey dinners donated by Central Pennsylvania Foodbank to Habitat partner families so that they may have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday.

After just one month of being in this position I was able to see a groundbreaking, but then to be a part of a dedication - wow! Its just so cool to see so much volunteered work given to a family in need so that they can finally have their own home.

It's simply amazing.







Here are some pictures from the day plus some extras from my first few months as an AmeriCorp VISTA.

National Service Leadership Conference 2010

Early in the morning on November 8th I headed out the door with packed bags and AmeriCorps gear ready to attend what I thought would be a summer camp themed week full of camp fires, sing-a-longs and pow-wows.

After the my Pre-Service Orientation in August at the fanciest hotel I've ever stepped in to, I had thought the AmeriCorps team liked take their projects to the extreme, so when I read on-line that we should bring flashlights to the camp-fires for the 'activities' I started questioning some things.

Well after 12 hours worth of flying, driving, and chit-chattering with Rebekah (fellow Harrisburg AmeriCorps member) and seeing some other familiar faces from PSO (Cyrus and Alyson) at the Atlanta airport, we finally reached Shocco Springs just outskirts of Talladega Alabama. I'm happy to say that I immediately felt better when I started seeing more familiar faces. It wasn't about bonfire campgrounds, but rather a networking retreat to catch up with old faces and meeting new ones. After a long day of traveling everyone just took advantage of catching up, sharing reunion-hugs and just sitting back. The next day began the classes.

Early morning we had our opening ceremony telling us a little more about what to expect within the week and then we took the large group pictures. I'll post a couple once I get a hold of them myself but have yet to find any links to them yet. We took photos of the entire AmeriCorps Habitat Vista/National team and then more broken out in to smaller groups.

I could chat about the sessions/classes but really the most beneficial part of being around everyone for a week and the scheduled meetings was the networking. Talking with so many AmeriCorps representatives from so many affiliates across the states was great. There was so much sharing[stealing] of ideas, programs, successes, challenges, stories, inspiration, and more and that was truly what made the trip most worth-while. I met with a number of people in August at PSO when most of us didn't really know what to expect in the next few months but when we were able to reconnect this past week we had such a better grasp on our positions, fields, teams, locations, projects and more.

The week ended with a closing ceremony where a new home-owner family were given the chance to share their story of prayer for a new home and a thank you to the people who made it possible. I don't think there was a cold heart miles away from the room when they spoke of so much joy, compassion, love, and gratitude.

While I'm not sure if/when I'll see most of these faces again, I'm definitely looking forward to Build-a-thon even though it won't be till much later in the year and only based regionally. I had gotten excited about working with everyone on building together but plans changed and now we're being broken in to smaller groups throughout some different locations in the country.

It really was a great week. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again, hopefully soon.


http://www.dailyhome.com/view/full_story/10275611/article-Habitat-holds-national-service-conference-at-Shocco-Springs?instance=home_right

Living in the Burg

hellooooo!

i've decided to post a video for this blog. check it out! there may or may not be more of these. help me out by commenting if you'd like to see more vids or if you'd rather read my posts!

Do it for someone else.

I've been noticing so much more posts on Facebook about doing better things. This revolves around cancer-walks, recycling, good deeds, eating healthy, working out, providing for someone else, educational events... but what are you actually doing? You can read so much online about a anniversary of an event and everyone doing something good that day, but what about the other 364 days of the year? You could experience the life of someone else who may be less fortunate than you for a day or two... but they have to do this every day... What are you doing to change that?

You can hold a door open for someone or simply lend an ear but that can only go so far for a single person. There are too many people in the world who suffer every day from either bad judgement or bad luck, what are you doing to stop that?

I'm excited that Glee is working with Members Project and that it is grabbing so much attention from the fans but why would it stop there with just a fun post on Facebook. You should do something about it.

Have you ever thought about taking one of your free days from work or school to go out in to your town and volunteer your time to someone else? I'm not saying I'm any better, I find myself spending a lot of my off time at home with the computer or television on but I'm trying to change that. I don't need to refresh a Facebook page to see a friend post a quote about love. I want to go out and provide my love for service. I want to be there for someone else. And I think you should too.

snapping the moment

alright so i have a camera. that is a lie. i have a lot of cameras. i still need to edit that. i have 1 fully functional working camera. i have owned 7 cameras in the last four years.

#1 - i returned to the store (financial reasons)
#2 - the lense broke
#3 - the screen cracked (but still takes pictures so it is now donated to the troops to take pictures to send home to families)
#4 - the screen cracked (and i even bought a case this time too)
#5 - still works but the lense doesn't like to open most of the time
#6 - 35mm (older than me) and i still haven't learned the features to use it enough
#7 - my new baby. a gift from Mavourneen and Mike a week ago for graduating in May

my senior thesis was photography. since I've graduated I've hardly taken any pictures and this is very weird for me. since adopting the 35mm I've had this image in my head of all the pictures i'd be taking in Harrisburg and I haven't used it once.

this is my challenge: i'm taking my 35 mm and/or new digital and taking 5 pictures every day. whether it is of a co-worker, neighbor, housemate, the river, the Churches, the capitol, nature, city life, or whatever... I am challenging myself to take 5 pictures every day.



lets see how this one goes....

to love another person is to see the face of God.

love brings out the best in people. that is, if its true love. when you truly care about someone in the most unconditional ways it is then that you can see true love. it is then that you are the least selfish because your upmost desire is for that person to be happy, even if it means harship for your own self. this is coming from a mixture of my own experiences and witnessing of others.

how do you feel when you see someone close to you in heartache? how do you feel when you're involved in the heartache? make a decision about what is the absolute best for that person, because if you truly love that person as much as you say you do then you'll let go of any of your own frustration and put their happiness first.

on another note, when you make an assumption of someone based on a simple mistake or hardship in their own life and then let it affect your over-all feelings then you need to take some time to really decifer if that is how you really feel about the person or if you're holding a grudge over a simple matter that is in the past. let it go.



Let go and let God.
It is then, that He is proud of you.

homesick much?

i am homesick. but not in horrible way. i just really miss a lot of people. so much family in chicago and so many friends in cincinnati. i really miss people. its been really bizarre to not be around so many people like when i'm at the mount or be able to walk a couple blocks in any direction in beverly to see a familiar face. thats a big factor about why i was so excited to see mavourneen and mike this weekend. it really was good timing because we were able to actually sit back and hang out and take nittany for a walk and just enjoy the company. they're only a couple hours away so i really need to check out my options so i can see them more.

but about being homesick. i'm happy i'm here. don't get me wrong. i'm happy about what i'm doing. i'm happy about where i live. i just REALLY miss my friends and family right now. i miss seeing them every day and getting lunch and dinner with friends and going out to the lodge or western.

but i'm excited. i've been saying how much i love having new challenges this year and i still do, completely. i just have the tendency to not pursue every opportunity. a lot of my free time i feel is spent sitting at the computer or on the phone talking to someone hours away from me as opposed to walking around harrisburg to meet someone new. i'm excited though that next month vanessa will be moving in only a block away from me with her new housemates :) and we can be going out on 2nd together and for coffee.

here's the REAL challenge. when i'm by myself: i need to force myself to RUN. or at least walk/slow jog. i really need to push it. at least start with some yoga...

transferring the seeds. not easy but worth it for the garden.

alright. here are some facts about moving:

if you're going to live on a floor other than the 1st or 2nd - plan on making some new friends before you're going to move again - because lifting furniture up 2 sets of narrow steep stair cases has already tested your current friendships enough.

on that note, make sure you have extra money to put to use later that night because you definitely owe those friends some good strong drinks.

don't plan on moving furniture that doesn't come apart. drawers that don't come out of a dresser, desk, nightstand, etc are things you will learn to hate.

invest in your own tool kit. enough said.

pack lightly. you'll learn not to be a pack-rat if you're in the stage of life where you need to move a lot. also, making 10 trips from the car for a small light bags will leave you a much happier person than making 3 trips for the heaviest items you could (or couldn't) carry.


[[don't be shocked if this ends up in the book i'm writing {which i've yet to start} about life in your 20's]]

but anyway, the move-in went smoothly in matters other than furniture up the stairs. it took most of saturday evening and sunday afternoon/evening to finish it up but most of the pieces are put in place. once the bed was made, the floor was vacuumed, and some things were hung on the wall it actually looked like a bedroom. there are miscellaneous items left back at the apartment to pick up later but i'm otherwise settled. i woke up this morning [not feeling like p.diddy] and was able to head out to my first day as the faith relations coordinator. just me, no desiree :( she's going to be missed at this office, along with jen, but its time for me to take this position and run with it. desiree passed off the materials, the contacts, the computer desk, the printer, the birthday/celebration party planning, and the encouragement for a great position. thank you!

and here it goes!

planting my own seeds

well i have another hour left before faith relations is mine. scary but thrilling! a small group of us at the office today had a small celebration for des and jen for their last day with us as a thanks for the last year they've dedicated to habitat. it really was a great send-off to the girls :)

but also in another hour - i'll start my moving process to my new house. i've got the majority of my things packed so i'm planning on moving what i can today and then most of the larger items tomorrow when mavourneen and mike are here :) i'm excited to have visitors again now that i have become so much more familiar with harrisburg. especially that mo is visiting because she always wants to do go walking around and doing something new.

as i've been planning for this move i've thought about what i'm going to do with my room since i'm now following any silly apartment rules with painting. i've looked in to some options at loews and am trying to keep my eyes pealed. also, i've already got ideas about what to do with the backyard. it has so much potential for a really cute patio set up..... but those overgrown weeds are kind of getting in the way. if anyone has any ideas or tips to help out please share :)

digging to the roots

during my time at PSO we learned about what to expect emotionally throughout the year with being a VISTA and i'm really just now starting to understand it. at the beginning we're expected to be really excited and ready for a challenge and learn a lot of new things. then we may get a little nervous where the material and our job expectations become overwhelming and then it'll seem like everything is piling on you and you don't know what to do with yourself.

that's where i'm at now. tomorrow is my last day with Desiree in the faith relations program and then as of 5:00 it's mine. its all handed to me to take over for the next year - scared much? yes.

but then something changes. we discover how much we really do know and suddenly everything just fits in. that's been happening a lot this week.

yesterday was the perfect example. i witnessed my first groundbreaking. i got to see the excitement of the soon-t0-be-homeowners in their new neighborhood as the construction of their new home begins. cameras, media, habitat representatives, congregation members, pastors, city council members and so much more were present for the momentous occasion and being a part of it, myself, gave me time to really think. standing there in the background, all i could do was be so appreciative for what habitat does and the fact that God provided this for all of us to experience and be involved with its purpose. any bit of doubt, frustration, nervousness i have is now replaced with the gratitude of that moment. it's a reminder that i've been granted with this opportunity to help make those moments possible.

digging dirt with golden shovels was for the pictures but its also a beautiful symbol. digging in to the truth of what habitat really is: providing a home for a family granted by God's love.

making my mark.

okay so since i've already been here a month and i still have the rest of the year to go, what else am i doing with my time in harrisburg!?

well i've picked up an additional volunteering position with the local Parish. The Cathedral of St. Patrick is just a couple blocks away from the apartment that i'm in now so i've decided to get more involved than just attending the Sunday service. Today was my first day as an assistant teacher for the PREP Sunday school! I Miss Ryan, with Mrs Landis, teach 15 wonderful 3rd/4th grade students the 3rd grade curriculum and we're already excited about the activities we have planned for the year!

last weekend (Labor Day) Brian came to visit and it was just about the best weekend the two of us have ever had! we went for a free tour at hershey world and ended up getting additional free chocolate than otherwise offered because we did a taste-testing = win. [which we got additional chocolate afterwards for doing the tasting]. we went to New Jersey for a day as well to visit all four of his grandparents {that was absolutey wonderful}. and Kipona was so much fun. its a festival held here every year for labor day weekend and a big portion of it is an art festival. it didn't take long for me to gawk at everything. i've already built this big picture of how i want to decorate my walls - i just wish i had the money to do it. Brian was amazingly generous and got me a photo printed on canvas of my favorite flower, an orchid, since i've had horrible luck in keeping the live plants he got me before well.. alive. and of course i love fireworks and so being as tired as i was i hated missing out on the fireworks that night but it turned out we were able to see them straight from my apartment window - i loved it! [[why am i giving this place up again]] but anyway.

the more to do in harrisburg: I've yet to make a trip there but I've heard a little birdie *named jen larson* say that the capital building is the "3rd most beautiful capital building in the states" and that the free tours are absolutey worth it. the little birdie has been on 7 tours in the last year...

lets see how busy i'll be in the next week or so for the next post :-D

turning the pages

Hey readers, I'm excited to say that I've officially been a VISTA for one month. Being a member of AmeriCorps really does provide opportunity to learn about prioritizing, financial needs vs wants, and even yourself. I can't believe the roads I've traveled, literally. I've actually been excited about getting lost because I'm forced to learn my way around the Capitol. [[I hate 83]]

The most impacting thing though about being a VISTA besides the Habitat position is the living allowance. A large part of being a VISTA is living in the life of poverty. I've been pretty lucky for the last month living in this apartment and making it on $50 a week. A big factor about that though is that I don't have my own car to be paying for gas all of the time or making any other regular car payments (otherwise i'd be in trouble). I've been able to pick out reasonably priced and essential groceries and actually make them last. It's the living in this apartment though that makes the budget so tight. It's been worth the pretty penny though for the past month........But unfortunately I have to leave this dream apartment that I've already fallen in love with. I've already started packing which is never fun......... However, I'm looking forward to moving in next week to my new house!

My wonderful big sister Mavourneen and her boyfriend are being ever so gracious and coming out for the day to help me move in and give me some really nice living essentials to add to the collection I've started. [[that's pretty lucky if you ask me]]. I'll be living just 5 minutes from my current apartment with two girls, Malinda and Alyson (alyson being desiree's cousin) and we already get along great. I'm so excited about this place too because since Malinda owns it I can make it my own by painting the walls and framing more pictures and even tend the backyard for some fun patio-l[i/o]ving! (i'm going to be pretty busy...)

but anyway, I can't believe I only have 5 more days to work with Des and then its just me. I'll be on my own as the Faith Relations Coordinator. It's frightening but thrilling at the same time! There is still so much to learn but that's also a part of the job... There will always be more to learn and I have a great team here to depend on if I ever lose my way! It's just sad that Des and Jen will be leaving us :(

but that's okay. desiree worked so hard in the last year to build these relationships with the 100something Congregations as the first VISTA in this 3-year program and now i've got this amazing opportunity to truly engage in their desire for service.

turning a house into a home

I've officially been moved in for a week and feel so comfortably at home. This apartment, city, community, atmosphere, work-team already is so amazing that I couldn't imagine leaving a year from now. My current roommates will be gone before I know it and they've been repeating for the last week how sad they are to leave. I'm glad its had such a great impact on them that they have molded their lives in to this city and are upset to leave because that just gives me more encouragement that it only gets better from here.

My first big meeting was today with one of the Build teams and it was definitely a lot to observe. Every day I realize more and more the process and the dedication it takes to give these families a home and not just a place to sleep for a night. It really is a reminder of how many wonderful people and things I've had in my life. My senior thesis quote was 'Live Simply so Others May Simply Live' by Gandhi and these experiences truly give the statement meaning. I am so grateful for the things that have been provided for me and I am so thrilled for every challenge that I've overcome and the challenges that are being granted this year so that every day I can learn more about this amazing life.

Chapter One

Overwhelming but THRILLING!

Well, I'm moved in [with two incredible women, Jen and Katie] to my first apartment, ever and am already wanting to live here forever. But unfortunately I'm receiving very limited living allowance and will most likely be moving somewhere cheaper in the next two months. But that's okay.

Jen, Katie, and I had a girls night last night before my first day of work to play 'get to know each other' and it was awesome. I've never been so excited about a new living experience as I was last night. Katie, though, will be moving in a couple weeks and Jen will be too just another month or so later so I'll definitely be needing a new roommate and/or a cheaper place come October. Fortunately the girl I'm replacing [the wonderful Desiree] has a friend of a friend who needs a roommate that I've been chatting with briefly so I'm hoping for the best in that case. I'll be updating with that, for sure.

But on to the most exciting - I started today!! I finally met Eve and Desiree in person today and they are both beyond wonderful. Within minutes I already felt comfortable with the team I'm working with and am already upset that Jen and Des will be leaving in 6 weeks. I didn't do any real work today but certainly learned a lot. There were a few of us that went on a walking tour of the Habitat Sites and it definitely was a lot to take in. It was so cool though to see how much work has already taken place in the last ten or so years and there is such an amazing vision for the future that I can't wait to help initiate! One of the first things that Eve mentioned today is that there would be a lot of information today and would appear as being overwhelming at first but then we'd realize how smoothly things run through the team. I definitely felt that. There was absolutely a lot today to take in but it was amazing!

Tomorrow is another day to learn more and I can't wait! Keep reading!!

Dedication

Hey readers.

Sorry for the delay but I've got plenty to update now so get comfy!!

PSO was awesome. Meeting 150 new VISTAs in Atlanta Georgia for 4 days last week all there for amazing reasons was inspiring in itself. Every person I met had an amazing story to share about why they are becoming a VISTA. Outside of the sessions, there was so much conversation about where we’re from, where we went to school, and where we’re working. I seriously met people from every corner of the U.S. including Alaska and Hawaii.

We stayed at an incredible hotel that was originally designed as a luxury apartment complex so I was very pleased to take in the building's beauty. Besides the suite style hotel rooms we stayed in we had our break-out group sessions in beautiful ballroom style conference rooms where we learned much more about the life-style of someone in poverty and what our responsibilities would be as a VISTA living the life of poverty. While I didn't learn as much about my own Habitat Position as the Community and Faith Relations Coordinator, I definitely learned about the position I'd be taking on for the next year of my life as a Volunteer in Service to America.

Aside from the text-book sessions I learned so much more from the discussions in the sessions:

It was amazing to be surrounded by so many people who all have the same passion; to help those in need. Everyone has a story about their experience with poverty or personal struggle but the people who choose to do something about it, like these 150 VISTAs are special. To donate your money or to read about it and share the knowledge with someone else to spread the awareness is AMAZING-GREAT-WONDERFUL but the people who take the extra time out of their lives to do something active for a year is truly dedication. I’m dedicating my life to service for a year. I’m living in poverty for a year as I help provide opportunities for someone else to exit a life of poverty. I’ve grown up with the resources I've needed to survive and took for granted that I was supported and was making it by in life with ease. It’s time for me to provide that for someone else. I'm so thrilled to do this for the next year of my life!

The First Chapter Begins

I may as well write a book about this year of my life. Each step is a new part of the book. I've even got a dedication (my reason for doing this and the application process to get to where I am now) and am about to begin my prelude (learning the rights and policies of AmeriCorp at the PSO [ Pre-Service Orientation ] this week when I leave in the morning for Atlanta, Georgia). Then on August 7th begins my first Chapter. That will be one of the most important road trips of my life. My parents are driving me out to Harrisburg so I can move in to my first apartment and the next day I will officially begin the 6 week training for my position as the Community and Faith Relations Coordinator for the Greater Harrisburg Area. I've already talked to three amazing women that I'll be working (and living) with and am excited to finally meet them.

I'll get back to this 'prelude' of mine tomorrow from Atlanta.

Thanks and Good Night!!

A New Beginning

This is my first of MANY blogs. I am about to embark one of the greatest experiences of my life, and that's right up there with my most-incredible four years of college. As of June 28th, I have accepted to be the Community and Faith Relations Coordinator for Habitat for Humanity in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for a year of service. I am unbelievably excited for this year to start and to be involved in such a great project! To give a little background on how it began I'll take you back a few years.

In March of 2008, I and seven other lovely women from the College of Mount St. Joseph took a very long car-ride to Charleston, South Carolina for our Spring Break. This wasn't your average spring break trip though for a bunch of college students. We were working with Habitat for Humanity with the Collegiate Challenge. We hammered, we lifted, we cut wood, we climbed on ladders, and much more. We spent a week of our lives to work together to help give a family a home.

In March of 2009, I and 19 other students from the same school set out for just the same mission. We took a much longer drive to Miami, Florida. We painted indoors and outdoors and worked on landscaping for two different homes, so that another family could have a home.

The impact that this kind of service-work does for someone else is so incredible, I had decided that I wanted more of it. In May of 2010 I graduated from that College unsure of what I was going to do with my degree. This, then, is the best time to spend a year of my life, rather than just one week, to carry out that same mission.

On June 28th, I had one of the most important phone-calls of my life. I said the word yes. I agreed to take on this incredible position. Being the Community and Faith Relations Coordinator, I will be writing a lot of e-mails, handing out news letters, making presentations, being a part of honoring the families with their new homes and working with the Collegiate Challenge groups.

I've grown to really love taking on challenges. This means I'm REALLY going to love this coming year. I'll be moving in to my own place for the first time, in a place I've never been, and cooking. Yes, cooking. I agree, that's the really scary one. Last summer when I was 1/2 living on my own my easiest access to making food was the microwave down the hallway in the dorm building. Therefore I had a whole lot of frozen dinners. I'm not going to get away with that for the next year of my life. I really need to start learning how to make real food, and that means buying real food too.

I'll be taking on a big task next week to get a start on this and will update then. In the mean time, wish me luck and I'll keep you posted,

Thanks for reading!