Shelby and the Rainbow Road, Day 6

Thursday was rainbow day. Each member of Team Rainbow proudly wore a different color, completing the whole spectrum. We are adorable.

We only had one project planned for the day: working with the Aliveness Project. However, it would be our longest project, as we were helping them plan for their annual Dining Out For Life event. They made sure there was plenty for us to do as far as mailings and cleaning and ironing aprons. There were other volunteers there that came and went as we worked. We had fun getting to know these people and interacting with them.

I think I cleaned and or ironed at least
100 aprons. That takes time.

The Aliveness Project has been the most inspiring organization to work for. Their mission, according to their website, is to "encourage self-empowerment and provide direct services for persons living with HIV/AIDS. Since 1985, The Aliveness Project has been a community resource and active leader in the HIV community in Minnesota. What started out as a small group of people gathering to share potluck meals has grown into a membership organization that now serves one out of four Minnesotans living with HIV/AIDS!" I was very impressed by both their outreach and their variety of programs. They have their meal program, serving 10 meals on 6 days of the week, a food shelf, which is meant to help supplement by the month and is designed specifically for the nutrition required by persons with HIV/AIDS, integrative therapy, case management, and they host many events for fundraising.

You don't even understand. I LOVE IKEA.

What set the Aliveness Project apart to me was the way in which people were being helped. The Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition and Pride Alive both worked at prevention, while the Aliveness Project was focused on caring for those already infected and helping them improve their quality of life. One is not better than the other, they are both equally important. However, caring for people resonates more with me over prevention. It is just the type of service that I believe I would normally choose. I am so appreciative that we worked with the Aliveness Project, because I don't believe I would have had another opportunity to work with a similar organization. I was actually able to discover something about myself with regards to my development as a person committed to life-long service.

Some people on my team started to complain of feeling fatigued, and took to caffeinated beverages as a response. Usually feeling pretty pumped and energetic, I was surprised to find that sleep deprivation eventually yet suddenly took hold of me. One minute I was spot-treating aprons like a gold medalist, the next I was staring off into space. I finally gave in, and had a cranberry caffeine drink of Amanda's. I had no idea how quickly it would work...

One of the Aliveness Project employees, Josh, spoke with us about HIV and AIDS, from the basic acronyms to the advanced details of life with the virus. As an individual living with HIV, Josh was very informative and happy to answer all our questions. I really appreciate how easy it has been to talk with everyone on this trip. It's great to see how much people care about education and expanding views.

This thing was a bad idea...

I was pleased as punch when we were able to walk through IKEA during the evening, sampling their swedish meatballs and their decor. I just love that place. I ended the night with a large cappuccino, which turned out to be a bad idea considering I was up until 3am...