Peter Paul: Day One, Two, and Three

DAY ONE
Saturday / March 17, 2012
Early morning on Saturday, at the brisk hour of 5 A.M., my group and I was ready to embark on our long journey to Richmond, Virginia. With seven of us traveling approximately 16 hours together, it was definitely time to get comfortable! With only one male, Dustin True, initiated the trip by taking the role of the first driver. Lindsey McDaniel, who was the other driver, is the other site leader for the trip and would drive part of the way. The other volunteers that would be helping were Carlye Yanker, Emily McCartney, Alli Sierra, and Alyssa Ong.

With this being said, the trip was a long one. On the road, we mainly slept, but apart from this we sang along crazily to the radio and even chatted about what our favorite movies are and other basic facts. We discussed about how excited we were to finally be able to visit the place that we had been wanting to go since November when first applying to Alternative Breaks.

My group and I were assigned to help at the Peter Paul Development Center in the East End of Richmond, as well as the Glen Lea Elementary School, which is located approximately 10 to 15 minutes away. Though we had a few hiccups on our trip, such as the torrential downpour of rain and Carlye losing her wallet, we finally reached our destination at the St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, where we will be living for the duration of our trip, at 1 A.M.

DAY TWO
Sunday / March 18, 2012
On the second day of our trip, we decided to take our free day to the great city of Washington, D.C.! Since it is only a few hours away from Richmond, we thought it would be a great experience to visit our nation's capital and experience the history of how America was set up. We were able to visit the Smithsonian, The White House, and many of the monuments such as the Vietnam and Lincoln Memorials. While visiting the monuments, we also ran into a few KU fans and had them pose with us for a photo! Overall, it was a very successful day and it allowed us to bond cohesively as a group, which would help allow us to work together better when we help at our locations tomorrow.

DAY THREE
Monday / March 19, 2012
Today started the actual day of visiting our volunteer locations and experiencing firsthand the poverty-stricken areas that inhibit some parts of Richmond. We first started our day by getting our grocery's for the week, which turned out being more difficult than we had planned. Being on a budget can be very difficult!

After this, we then were ready to visit the Glen Lea Elementary school, where we will be helping from 9 A.M. to approximately 1:30 P.M each day. There, they gave us a simple tour by showing us all the rooms and teachers that we would have. Since I like working with older kids, I would be placed with primarily older students during the week. After we visited Glen Lea, we then went back to the church for a brief lunch break and then headed to our next location to the Peter Paul Development Center.

At the Center, they gave us a similar tour by showing us the classrooms and teachers. They also showed us their garden, though, where we might be helping out on Wednesday! After this, they also gave us a broader tour of the entire Church Hill Community, where the kids of the Peter Paul Development Center is from. While visiting, I was able to see how truly blessed I am. It's definitely an eye-opener coming into these neighborhoods and seeing the realities that these kids have to face on a daily basis. I, personally, know that I couldn't do it. They come from homes with an average income of around $10,000. I was seriously in shock by that number because that is less than it even costs to go to KU! I truly did not realize how good I have it.

After this, I was placed in Mr. Ted's group to help assist one of the sixth graders in his class do his homework. During this, the young boy spoke to me about his dreams of becoming a chef. By hearing this, I have been able to realize how grateful I am to be assisting at the Peter Paul Development Center. They truly have the mindset to help these kids achieve these dreams and not only am I glad to see these kids succeed, but I am also looking forward to opening myself up more to the broader world that I wasn't necessarily aware of before this experience. I am ready for change.