Care Force Chronicle- Kansas City, MO

T-Mobile volunteers moving soil
while building an outdoor classroom.

By Emily Kean

Partner: T-Mobile

Volunteers: 150

Service Partner: John T. Thornberry Boys and Girls Club

When: October 17 – 21, 2010

TCF: Phillip St. Clair, Emily Kean, Dan Nemiroff, Georgia Lawrence, Flo Capinding, Aundrea Dean, Dylan Morrill, Steadman Graves; Project Manager Huw McDonald

Our trip to Kansas City started at 6:30 am, when we boarded the plane from Boston to Missouri on Sunday, October 17. The advantage of arriving in Kansas City so early on Sunday was that we were all able to get ready for a powerful week of prep for this T-Mobile Huddle Up Event. This was the first time since our very first trip to Riverdale, IL in which everyone on Team Care Force was all serving together! 

Gymnasium: Before



We served at John T. Thornberry Boys and Girls Club which serves 400 youth a day on average. They provide a safe place for youth to come before and after school where they can complete homework, participate in recreational activities, and learn new skills. We had an AMAZING time getting to know the staff and youth at this Boys and Girls Club. They were very friendly and accommodating to us. Every day we were welcomed to the club with a smile and constantly had kids asking us what projects we were completing and thanking us for the work we were going to do.



Gymnaisum: After
Also Pictured: Panel murals to be
hung around the Center

 The week leading up to the event was spent sketching murals, priming walls, and cutting wood. Our prep work was on track if not ahead of schedule until we had to prime a 20 foot curvy plastic wall. The texture of the wall created a tricky situation because the primer was not adhering correctly. After a trial and error and many scrapers we finally found the primer that would work! This reminded our team that, when in doubt, always check a small part of the wall before painting the entire thing. Even after this set-back our team was able to pull together and finish the prep work required for the service day. Wil Holbrook, Care Force Deputy Director, joined us on Tuesday and even though we worked late the whole crew was able to enjoy the famous Arthur Bryant’s BBQ!

 

On Thursday, October 21, 150 T-Mobile volunteers came out to the Thornberry Boys and Girls Club to paint murals, build bookcases and cubbies, create a Huddle Up Zone, and construct an outdoor classroom. As always our T-Mobile volunteers arrived with enthusiasm and ready to transform the club! They had collected a ton of donations for their Huddle Up Zone and were excited to serve. Overall, the day was great. Club Director Larry Lewis, the staff, and youth were thrilled by the all the work that had been completed by the T-Mobile volunteers. During closing ceremony, Larry presented a club member card to every T-Mobile volunteer as well as to our entire Care Force team as a token of their appreciation. We are all now club members at the Thornberry Boys and Girls Club for life and every time I see that club card I will be reminded of the community we built there alongside T-Mobile. 

Wavy Wall: After

Wavy wall: Before





 



 

 

Care Force Chronicle- Washington, D. C.

By Dylan Morrill

Partner: T-Mobile

Volunteers: 90

Service Partner: Simon Elementary School

When: October 11-14 , 2010

TCF: Dylan Morrill, Phillip St. Clair; Project Manager Hugh Harlow

Reserves: City Year Washington, D.C. Senior Corps Members Evan Waldt, Maggie Smith, Dominique Griffin; City Year Washington, D.C. Corps Members Peter, Angello Brady, Levon Alston; City Year Washington D. C. Program Manager Stef Vestal

On Sunday, October 10, Phillip St. Clair, I, along with Hugh Harlow, Care Force Project Manager, arrived in Washington D.C. – hungry. Hugh had attended George Washington University and knew all about the city. He told us that Ben’s Chili Bowl was one of the best places to eat in D.C. – and it was! At Bens, there was a sign hanging up that read “The only people who eat free here are Bill Cosby and the Obama Family” After seeing this sign I established that a new life goal of mine will be to get on that list.; although, judging by the two people that are on it now, that may be pretty hard.  After lunch, we made a Home Depot run and then ate at Meskerem, an Ethiopian restaurant in the heart of D.C. for dinner. It was a totally new experience for me to use a piece of ‘pancake-like’ Injera to pick up food from a community bowl.  It was great food and I really liked trying something totally new.

The next day, we met up with Evan, Maggie, Angelo, Peter, Dominique, Levon, and Stef of City Year Washington, D. C. to begin service at Simon Elementary School. Simon Elementary is home to one of our City Year Whole School Whole Child teams from City Year D. C. For Phil and I, this was our first opportunity to serve with Care Force in a school where a City Year team serves daily. After meeting everyone, we quickly realized that three of our projects were taking place four floors upstairs from where are supplies were located. So our first act of business was to bring all of the tools and materials and all of the donated items from T-Mobile up four flights of stairs to the projects. It was hard work but we got it done; and we were all a bit stronger because of it. Thanks to the positive energy of the City Year D. C. team, our prep week got off to a great start. After we left Simon Elementary for the day, we freshened up at the hotel and made a quick trip to Home Depot before heading to dinner at The Ghana Café. Just like the Ethiopian food, this was a great new experience.

The next two days of prep work went by well. We primed all the walls, cut all the wood and sketched all the murals. We also made the occasional after hours Home-Depot and Target trips to pick up extra supplies which unfortunately meant we had to grab fast food for dinner. By the end of the day on Wednesday; we were 100% ready to lead a great T-Mobile huddle up service day.

On Thursday, our team arrived at the school very early to double check and double prepare. We had a final check in before the 90 T-Mobile volunteers arrived and spread out with our team number signs in the gymnasium. The first bus arrived and the volunteers swiftly walked into the gymnasium to find their teams. However, the second bus, with the rest of the volunteers was delayed. So all the City Year Project Coordinators lead team building activities with their group of volunteers until the others arrived. I was skeptical about being able to quickly organize a game of “human knot” with my fifteen volunteers so early in the morning. However, believe it or not, we finished it before any other group and my team really loved it.

After the second bus of volunteers arrived, we began our day of service. The day went by quickly and smoothly. On every Care Force trip I feel as though each hour of a service day flies by so quickly. This trip was no different and my project, the T-Mobile Huddle Up Zone, was completed before I knew it. In addition, by the end of the day we had built benches for an outdoor classroom, painted a large wall mural, created a tile mosaic, painted the Parent Room, enhanced the City Year Room, and made an Oasis Room. The school was completely transformed. At closing ceremony the principle of the school, Dr. Flamer, was visibly moved by the transformation. She was so grateful, in fact, that she had recruited a few of the schools children to make large signs saying “Thank You T-Mobile.” It was a pretty amazing sight to see the obvious gratitude on Dr. Flamers face at the end of the day and I can just imagine she will continue to do great things with the gifts that Care Force and T-Mobile have given the school. 

Care Force Chronicle-Memphis

 by Florence Capinding


Downtown Memphis.

Partner: ARAMARK

Volunteers: 78

Service Partner: Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association

When: October 10-13, 2010

TCF: Florence Capinding, Dan Nemiroff, Steadman Graves; Project Manager Susan Bensen and Chris Farr

Reserves: Anna Dilernia- City Year Miami Senior Corps Member, Anthony Teague-City Year Miami Senior Corps Member, Lauren Fazah- City Year Headquarters Human Potential Coordinator

On this trip, we had the privilege of working with two reserves from the City Year Miami Team, Anna Dilernia and Anthony Teague, and one reserve from City Year Headquarters, Lauren Fazah. It was very refreshing getting to work with new people and hearing all the great things that are going on at various City Year sites. I think that is one of the things I enjoy most about this job. I have the opportunity to serve with other bright and idealistic individuals from across the United States.  

Lauren Fazah leading ARAMARK
volunteers in constructing picnic tables.

For this week's Care Force Event, we worked with ARAMARK volunteers at the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association. MIFA was founded in 1968 to find a solution for poverty and racial divisions in Memphis. Presently, MIFA engages the community to sustain the independence of seniors, transform the lives of families in crisis, and equip teens for success.  Some of their diverse and powerful programs include - delivering over 2,400 hot lunches to seniors on a daily basis, providing emergency funds for families suffering from an unexpected loss of income, and offering mentoring and life skills for teens in the college application process. MIFA serves over 60,000 individuals annually. ARAMARK volunteers worked in the neighborhood garden and recreation areas.

ARAMARK volunteers painted numerous
playground graphics in the recreation area.

One of my most memorable moments during the preparation week before the big event day was moving 600 pieces of lumber three different times and then measuring and cutting it. You would think this would be exhausting and a waste of time, but our positive can-do attitude made the work seem like it was nothing! And because of our preparation, once the event day finally came the ARAMARK volunteers were able to construct 10 picnic tables, 8 double planter benches, 8 raised planter beds, a sandbox, and a brick pathway for the community garden. I think this was the most construction I've seen on a single event day to date! All the items constructed were placed around MIFA’s housing projects, giving the area a welcoming atmosphere and a sense of community. ARAMARK volunteers also painted playground graphics and 30 panel murals which made the recreation area even more beautiful. It was a very transformative day!

 

Memphis BBQ. Yum.

Outside of work, the team and I gorged on Memphis BBQ. One of the restaurants we ate at was Jim Neely’s Interstate BBQ. They are known for their BBQ spaghetti. On top of ordering spaghetti, we also had BBQ salad, BBQ ribs, BBQ sandwiches, and lots of sweet tea. It was delicious! This Memphis trip will definitely be remembered in my mind.

*Thank you Lauren Fazah for the great photos!

CSX Video- Baltimore, MD

Check out this video from the CSX Beyond Our Rails website about the Care Force project in Baltimore, MD!