Care Force Chronicle - Atlanta, GA

Thursday, October 14th, 2009 – Andrew Duffy

Care Force traveled to Atlanta, GA in October for a powerful week of physical service. In the city where “Every Day Is an Opening Day” our week opened with some damp and chilly weather. Representing Team Care Force were Susan Bensen, Kimberly Ferguson, Ken Wakwe and Andrew Duffy, all under the guidance of Project Manager, Hugh Harlow. Our trip was brightened by the addition of Reserves from City Year Miami; Project Leader Erin McCreary and Corps Member Neil Stanga. We were also luckily graced with presence of City Year Boston’s Admissions Manager, Jasmin Jimenez.

The ARAMARK service site for this project was The Atlanta Union Mission. They were chosen as the site for their long history of working with women and children. Established in 1938 as a refuge for homeless and hungry displaced by the Great Depression, the Mission has grown from a single shelter in downtown Atlanta to six facilities across the city. The sites provide emergency food and shelter, residential recovery programs and transitional housing for the residents of Atlanta. The Howell Mill Road Campus provides shelter for 264 women and children while also offering counseling, life skills training, and work therapy. In addition, the Mission runs a thrift store whose profits directly support the Mission’s program. There were two goals for the week, the first being to enhance the interior and exterior appearances. The second goal was to forge a relationship between the center and the local ARAMARK employees to optimize their ability to prepare clients for re-entry into the work place.



Seven projects were planned to help bring new energy to the center through indoor additions and outdoor enhancements. Though Mother Nature tried her best, the volunteers showed tremendous flexibility through inclement weather and were determined to see their day of service through. Team 1 assembled benches and picnic tables to maximize outdoor seating around the barbeque, as well as moving massive piles of mulch and dirt. Team 2 constructed bookshelves and cubbies to provide storage space in the classrooms used for counseling and group meetings. Team 3 built outdoor planter boxes that will be used as part of an outdoor classroom for the women of the shelter. Working at a feverous pace, Team 4 painted three classrooms a vibrant shade of green, along with Team 2’s bookshelves to create more welcoming spaces. Team 5 cleaned out the Mission’s donation closet and then built new storage for the area. Team 6 painted murals for the walls, and Team 7 gave a face lift to the center’s stairwell railings.


Though dampened shirts weighed them down, the spirit of the ARAMARK volunteers remained lifted. The volunteers worked through the weather and tight working spaces to complete all the projects within the allotted time. It is appropriate that the Atlanta Union Mission’s logo depicts a street lamp aglow with light, for the smiles on the clients faces will create a beacon of hope that will reach the darkest of corners throughout the city.

Care Force Chronicle - Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia, PA – Saturday, September 26, 2009 – Susan Bensen

The trip began on an average Thursday in Philadelphia, but this event was not going to be an ordinary CSX service day because this event would mark the start of the CSX Trees for Tracks campaign! The goal of CSX’s Trees for Tracks is to plant one tree for every mile of train-track that CSX operates on over the next five years. “CSX is committed to making a positive impact on the communities in which we live and do business” said Tori Kaplan, CSX Director of Corporate Citizenship. "Not only does planting trees improve air quality and offset carbon emissions, but trees act as noise buffers, provide healthy homes for wildlife and add beauty to our world." Now before you get out your tape measures and calculators – I will save you the time and tell you, that will be a total of over 21,000 trees!

The resting ground of the first batch of trees was in the downtown area of Philadelphia at the Greenfield Elementary School. The school has been going through a three-year greening renovation and these 26 trees would be the final piece to the project. The staffing of the event included Senior Corps Members, Susan Bensen and Kimberly Ferguson and Project Managers, Hugh Harlow and Chris Farr.

Due to the nature of Trees for Tracks events – a brand new project and an overall new experience for everyone involved – prep included a lot of discovery. But even with all the new changes, Kimberly, Susan and Hugh had time than to see the sights that Philadelphia has to offer. They enjoyed Susan’s wealth of knowledge of Philadelphia as she had served her corps year in Philadelphia. They were also lucky enough to experience a true Philly classic at the place where “Cheese Steaks” were created, Pat’s King of Steaks, in south Philadelphia. Afterwards it was back to the service site to sort out all the different components and tools for a Trees for Tracks event. Even though there was only one day of prep – we were still busy.

The event day came fast and early for Team Care Force. The team departed from the Holiday Inn at 6:50 a.m. to reach the service site. There were a total of 79 CSX and community volunteers in attendance and after a quick breakfast and opening ceremony - they were off to service. The 26 trees were being planted in a forest-like patch – so all volunteers were able to serve in one centralized location. One team started on the left side and the other team started on the right side and planted the trees till they met in the middle. After a total of 44 hours and 26 trees planted later, the first ever CSX Trees for Tracks event was completed. The team wished farewell to the city of brotherly love and headed back to Boston that afternoon.

Care Force Chronicle - Greater Boston

Care Force Chronicle - Cautchy Bailly - 9.22.09

Care Force had the privilege to serve in their home area of Greater Boston at the East End House in Cambridge, MA. Susan Bensen, Andrew Duffy, Kimberly Ferguson, JoAnne Sylvia, Ken Wakwe, and I (Cautchy Bailly) had the pleasure of working with Care Force staff members Hugh Harlow, Huw McDonald and Meggan Levene in an effort to transform and beautify an historic part of the community. We were joined by City Year Boston’s Charlie Dunn, Britta Bell, and Melvin Manon.

The East End House is a not-for-profit, multi-service community center and social service agency with a commitment to serve a diverse population. It has been around since the late 1800s and at the current location since 1919 under the motto of “Building Community”. ARAMARK, our partner for this project, also has the same philosophy of “Building Community” making it a perfect match for an ARAMARK project.

The prep week was interesting. While transporting wood to the event location the team found out the garage area at the Headquarters for Idealism was also under construction. Needless to say moving tools out of the work-room on the second floor and into our van was a little bit of a maze. Fortunately, we were able to take everything in stride and finish in a timely manner. The prep work at the East End House went exceptionally well despite the challenges. The East End House staff there were extremely helpful and supportive. It is always a pleasure to work with people who believe in the same values as City Year. The kids at the center were so energetic, and it’s always fun to talk with kids; children have a talent for making people smile.


The service event focused on building. The East End House is not a large facility, so it was imperative that volunteers worked outside. The eight teams of volunteers at the event were responsible for building and staining ten bookshelves and cubbies to go inside the building. Work inside the building consisted of painting hallways, rooms and metal handrails. The ARAMARK volunteers also built and stained a sandbox for the children, cleaned and removed an old planting area, and an old, unsafe, wooden playhouse. They complimented these tasks with the building and staining of non-toxic planter boxes, mulching the children’s play area and painting a 185 ft. wall mural to cover the back of the building.

By the end of the day, the center looked like it had been demolished and a whole new center had been erected. The outside and inside were refreshed, and the staff of the center loved the changes. Personally, a day is a success when the volunteers build relationships through service. A lot of the volunteers on my team worked for the same company but in different lines of business so they did not know each other as well. By the end of the day they were exchanging jokes (sometimes at my expense) and overall enjoyed the day. Days like that feel so rewarding, and I am glad that everyone left the event with a big smile on their face.

Care Force Chronicle - Charleston, SC

Charleston, S.C. - 9.17.09 - By Grant Hooper

On September 17th, Care Force was lucky enough to host an event in Charleston, South Carolina with T-Mobile at the Trident Area Shaws Unit Boys and Girls Club. Two members of Care Force, Senior Project Manager Vanessa Meisner and Senior Corps Member Grant Hooper, along with 8 members of City Year Columbia prepared the project and led as project coordinators.

The Shaw Unit Boys and Girls Club is located on 22 Mary Street, in the heart of Charleston. While most Boys and Girls Club serve a variety of ages, the Shaw Unit has recently switched its programming to focus on local teenagers. The Boys & Girls Club has everything from mentoring and tutoring, to homework help, a basketball program, and a successful recording studio that is open to the youth. The studio was graciously donated by Carolina Studios to provide an outlet for the teenagers to express themselves musically with help from recording industry professionals. Another program they have is the “Reading Soul Mates” in which mentors encourage reading through library time, and provide homework help to children. The area in which the Shaw Unit serves is considered to be the 8th most dangerous place to live in America. Therefore the programming that the club provides is essential to the underserved youth in the area.

Prep week was a great time as usual but especially so because it provided a training ground for many of the City Year Columbia corps members. Out of the eight corps members that came on the trip, six were first year corps or first year senior corps members. We were able to help teach the basics of physical service including taping and tarping; mural sketching; and how to be an effective project coordinator. One story that stood out was the prepping of the T-Mobile Huddle Up Zone and adjacent computer room. During the prep, all of us were able to work in the same room as a team to complete a common goal. Since it happened on the first day it really helped set the tone for a successful week of prepping that utilized the strengths of the team.

Prep week flew by and before you knew it, event day was upon us. It was fun to see over 150 T-Mobile volunteers run off the busses full of energy and begin their day with some powerful PT. For a lot of the volunteers it was the highlight of their day as they were able to loosen up by doing jumping jacks, foot fires and front-side-backsides-fronts that prepared them for an energetic day of service. The volunteers were able to complete a lot of work that day including painting murals in the gym, repainting both the floor and the walls in two bathrooms, painting two large outdoors murals, building benches and creating a teen specific room that served as the T-Mobile Huddle-Up Zone. One touching moment came at the end of the day when Michael Washington, a member of City Year Columbia, put the final touches on a mural in the game room with help from one of the girls that utilized the club.

It was a wonderful day that saw a huge transformation in nearly every room of the club. The T-Mobile volunteers worked hard and were able to leave the day satisfied with the service they had completed.