Photos from T.E.R.I. San Diego

Sorry that we’ve been lacking with the posts..its been tough adjusting to a different time zone. Here are some pictures from the other day. More to come.

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Thoughts on New Orleans

Being able to return to New Orleans for the second time and play a small part in the rebuidling phase was a great experience. I left New Orleans with the utmost respect and admiration for the full time volunteers working with AmeriCorps and Catholic Charities. It was inspiring working with them all week. They work extremely hard day in and day out without much in return.

One of the reasons we started this organization was to inspire others to take part in service. I left New Orleans feeling more inspired than ever because of the volunteers we met. I cannot say enough about their dedication. You guys are awesome! Keep up the great work.

Leaving New Orleans was a bittersweet feeling. Our mission on this initial trip is to visit 5 cities and participate in a wide variety of service projects. With that being said, we knew it was time to move on to the next stop, but it is hard to leave a place like New Orleans because you see a NEED. There are still people that are unable to return to their homes 4 years after Katrina. It’s tough to fathom something like that when you are not exposed to it on a day to day basis. It would have been great to help out longer, but this will definitely not be The Call to Serve’s last stop to New Orleans. Now onto the next stop….

Missouri Day 2

Day 2: Missouri
We woke up to pouring rain and some not so promising skies, but the sky broke like glass on cement and the sun came out to play. We worked a full day from 9am-6pm. Here is a quick video of some of the stuff we did. Click read more.

Missouri / Rocky Vine Update

We worked all day yesterday on a variety of projects. We will be posting a video tonight. Here is a quick update video. You know the drill, click read more to see the video.

Doc to Dock Service Project 5/26

We woke up to rain, wind and some unseasonably cold temperatures. That didnt stop us though. We made the trek from Long Beach into Brooklyn and met up with students from Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School. We walked to 300 Douglass Street in Brooklyn and volunteered with an organization called Doc to Dock. Doc to Dock is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to improving the health and lives of people in Africa by providing healthcare workers with the tools they need. It is estimated that in the United States thousands of tons of medical supplies are discarded every day due to overproduction, procedural excess and regulatory requirements. This surplus of medical materials is either incinerated or deposited in landfills, both of which are harmful to the environment. Doc to Dock strives to reverse this cycle of waste by collecting the unused medical supplies from New York hospitals and shipping them to hospitals and clinics in need in Africa.
We spent our time at Doc to Dock organizing supplies and preparing palettes in order to be shipped to Africa. It was crazy to hear how many medical supplies in America are thrown away each year that are perfectly fine. It was truly awesome to know that we were having an impact on a community in need across the globe. It was a great day of service with the students of Bishop Louglin. To see other young people giving of their time after school was inspiring to the Call to Serve team. If you have a moment, click here to watch a short video on the Doc to Dock organization.

Talking with GCC student council

On Monday, I was able to talk to the Greensburg Central Catholic student council and it was a great opportunity for The Call to Serve.  It was very inspiring to have the chance to listen and interact with this group of young leaders.  The meeting was held at Giannillis Italian Restaurant in Greensburg asa well deserved reward for the all the student council’s hard work through out the year.  But the GCC student council hasn’t stopped working even though their school year is coming to a close, they insisted on finding a way to help The Call to Serve on our journey.  One thing that they are helping us out with is the food supply that the CTS team will need while we are in the RV.  Gathering these non-perishable goods for us to enjoy during our long hours on the road is a huge sign that people are looking after us.  They didn’t stop there either! A teacher at GCC, Mrs. Mary Jo Brecht, also suggested to do a root beer float sale at lunchtime and the student council embraced the idea.  We can’t thank the GCC student council enough and we hope to continue to hear from you through out our trip!