ASB Detroit 2009 - Day 3 photos on Flickr
Today the Detroit ASBers spent the afternoon touring metro Detroit with stops in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.
I love taking out-of-towners on a tour of metro Detroit (the city proper, in particular). You can physically see their perceptions change as you wind through places like The Heidelberg Project, Indian Village and Fox Town. There's a lot to love about Detroit that you just don't know about until you get here and experience it first-hand.
There's also a lot of work to be done and needs to be met. We toured those places as well today.
So, now that our ASBers know metro Detroit, know us here at the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, and know each other, tomorrow it's time to get down to business. Teams will be leaving campus at 8 a.m. to begin building wheel chair ramps, assembling a computer lab, mentoring children and rebuilding spaces for a women's shelter. That's when the real "fun" begins.
Day 2 of ASB and all are participants are safely ensconced in Detroit. The day was filled with many trips to and from campus and Detroit Metro Airport, meeting all our team members, and a kick off dinner that featured a 75-person Cupid Shuffle.
Why the Cupid Shuffle? You'll have to join us at Campus Martius on Friday, March 6th at 12:30 p.m. to find out...
Hope to see you there.
Day one of Alternative Spring Break Detroit 2009 is officially one for the record books now. Well, day one - pre-day one, that is. Participants start arriving tomorrow - today was a day for Team Leader training and set up. ASB hasn't really "officially" started, but everything that it is and everything that it represents, to me, is well under way.
As I drove home tonight, forcing myself to leave after having spent 14 hours on the project site, I pondered how I was going to convey in this blog tonight what this experience really means to me. Why ASB is so important. This is what came to me...It's easy in a job like mine - or anyone's, I guess - to get mired down in the day-to-day details and forget to look at the big picture. Deadlines and everyday tasks too often take over and I can forget, at times, why it is I choose to work at United Way - at a nonprofit - at an organization solely dedicated to improving community.
Spending a week with these young ASB volunteers, so dedicated to the servant-leader mentality that they have given up their Spring Break to spend a week volunteering in metro Detroit, I'm reminded of why I have chosen this path. Their optimism is contagious - it reminds me of the young, idealistic person I once was and it fills me with a renewed hope and sense of purpose.
I am so thankful for ASB and for what it does - not only for my community, but for me. I am thankful for the reminder. I am thankful for the renewal. I am thankful for the memories it creates that fuel me through the rest of the year.
So, whether you lend a hand and work with us, make a donation to United Way to support our work, or just follow us all week long through the blogs on this site - my hope is that you choose, however you can, to be part of the ASB experience this week too.
It's going to be a great week.
On the 2009 King Day of Service, and throughout the week of January 17th – 23rd, over 800 volunteers took part in volunteer-related service activities.
Volunteer time translated into community impact dollars = $62, 432 (as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Students from 5 regional colleges and universities participated. These schools include U of M-Dearborn, Lawrence Tech, Henry Ford Community College, Madonna University, Lawrence Tech and Oakland Community College.
24 community agencies opened up their doors to volunteers on this national day of service.
4 new partners this year: Chrysler LLC, Panera Bread, and City Year Detroit.
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