Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home

Today we traveled back to Knoxville after a whirlwind trip serving the youth of Memphis. I think it's easy to say that they taught us more than anyone would have ever expected, from how to "slay" and throw a football to the more serious lessons of privilege and the dangers of stereotypes. While the biggest takeaways are different for everyone involved, it was an impactful trip for all. We grew a lot, learned a lot, and became great friends along the way. From 901 to the 865 the VOLunteer spirit transcends far beyond our campus.

All the Athletics

All the Athletics

Day 3 was focused on serving with the Youth Villages at the Brentwood campus in Memphis.  The Youth Villages serves young people from 8-18 who are struggling to find their place in the community whether they have found themselves in the judicial system or been placed in foster care and circumstances brought them to the center. When we arrived in the morning we got to work or play with 8 to 10 year old boys outside doing anything from a mad game of kickball to walks around the lake.  Then we participated in runners club which is a program that gets youth out and walking or running with volunteers from the community to rack up miles and reach milestones.  The program rewards children when they get to 50, 75, 100, and 150 miles or farther.  After diving into conversation with the kids on our runs we took a break for lunch.  During that time we met with an administrator at the village and talked about the ins and outs of their program on campus and the outreach programs they conduct all over the city and in 22 other cities.

After we fueled back up we ventured over to the girls center, a facility that houses girls who need extra attention. Splitting up we interacted with groups of girls 9 to 12, 13 to 15, and 16 to 18 doing anything from playing cards to a savage game of kickball.  We all had a great time just spending an hour with girls who showed us real joy.

We finished the day watching our Vols play Texas A&M.  Although it was a heartbreaking loss we filled the fro-yo shop we took over with cheers and songs of Rocky Top until we left with our hearts in our throats but hope for next week.

Kids say the Darndest Things

Kids say the Darndest Things

Day 2 was packed full of so many great experiences! We started the morning with Focus First. This program goes to various different daycares and preschools in the Memphis area and provides free vision screening and follow up vision care for children, typically those under the age of 5. Once we met the team at their office, we split up into pairs and went with the various AmeriCorp members to numerous daycares and schools in the Memphis area. One group went to a Spanish language immersion school and another was sent to a preschool for the deaf, just for two examples. All the locations were great learning experiences and allowed our group to step outside their comfort zones. After learning about the fancy cameras they use for their testing and actually getting a chance to screen the kids, a lot of us got some "coffee time" with our leader to learn more about them and gain insight on their impact to the Memphis community. Since they weren't too much older than us we were able to really connect with them and gain a true appreciate for the work they do everyday. We ventured to Overton Park for a midday break and lunch. We had a nice surprise from Benjamin's mom that was so special (and involved a delicious carrot cake)! 

After a lunch, we headed to the Ira Samelson Jr. Boys and Girls Club. This was such a great time for everyone! Our experiences ranged getting our hair pulled out to recording music in the studio and learning some "interesting" facts about our presidents. Rumor has it according to one of our new friends, that Hillary Clinton is Donald Trump's wife.... We learned the importance of empowering the children and how just taking time out of our day is a way of showing them we genuinely care. In addition to these more humorous things, many of us also talked to kids about college and the importance of education. It was nice for us to work with a demographic in which we don't have a lot of experience. We got to play and have fun for the afternoon, while also having a positive impact on their life. 

After a full day of service we headed to downtown Memphis. We had a delicious dinner at Huey's and stuffed ourself with cheese fries. The tradition of the restaurant is to shoot toothpicks into the ceiling through a straw. 3 out of 4000 attempts were completed successfully from our group. We walked around Beale Street and were total tourists after our great dinner. We had so much fun taking pictures and getting to see the city together! 

Cheers to a wonderful first day of service! We will be back tomorrow for more service details and hopefully a 6-0 record to report for the Vols. 

"Flush Often"

"Flush Often"

 

Day 1 started at 6:30 a.m (before the sun was even up). We split up between the two vans and hit the road to head for Memphis. After dealing with Nashville traffic and people not knowing how to drive, we arrived in Jackson for a nutritious lunch at dairy queen. After chicken fingers and blizzards we headed to tour the University of Memphis. Elizabeth tested her luck and tried to park in the parking garage with the van. After having to completely turn around in a line of cars, we finally parked. We met our tour guides, Ashton and Jordan, in the University Center. We learned all about the free events on Memphis campus and the student life. We saw some really supportive Vol fans... and also some very angry Memphis Tiger fans. (In hindsight, it might not have been the best idea for us to wear all of our Vol gear on their game day.. But hey, GO VOLS). We really thought it was neat that they had so many tiger statues on campus. Also, their student involvement center does a great job of booking big name people for concerts such as B.O.B and Ludacris. We also learned that different businesses use one of their facilities and part of their contract is to meet with the business students on campus to make connections. 

 

After leaving Memphis, we headed to the Church that is housing us. We played some ice breaker games. One of these games included horse and bull frog noises. We will just leave it that. After learning more about the church and to "flush often", we headed to Walmart to stock up on food for the week. We now have a team making grilled cheese and soup for dinner and a team working on keeping you updated on whats going on. After dinner, we have Diane and Will, former alternative break leaders, sharing their experience with AFB and how it has benefited them in their future career. 

Day 1 was a success! We can't wait to get to work tomorrow and have a full day serving the community here!