Urban Revitalization
As a first-year BHLP participant, I decided to expand my horizons and apply to participate on a service trip focused around the issue of Urban Revitalization in Baltimore. Our goal was to help regrow urban farms to help the community obtain an adequate supply of food and necessities. When in Baltimore, I saw many homeless people on the streets who were struggling, but at the same time saw the hope, faith, and compassion of every citizen I met there. This drove me to work even harder during our days of service. Throughout the trip we worked with non-profits to help make progress towards our goals. One non-profit, the Baltimore ToolBank, offers tools for other non-profits at a discounted rate and by doing so, the non-profits they serve can carry out more projects to help their community. During our time at the ToolBank, we cleaned, organized, and fixed tools. We also created floating wetlands and helped load and unload trucks. By the end of our service days with the ToolBank, we worked on over 500 tools. The other organization we worked with was the 6th Branch. With them, we picked up trash, pulled out weeds, moved and shoveled compost, and many other steps to prep areas for gardening. Throughout the days I spent in Baltimore, I learned so much about the community, the roles that non-profits serve, and how vital communication and open-mindedness are when solving large-scale issues such as urban revitalization, urban hunger, and homelessness.
Service Leader
Upon my return to campus following my service trip to Baltimore, I decided to search for opportunities to engage in more service. With near-perfect timing, BHLP was looking for candidates to fill the role of service leader for next year's service events and trips. Without hesitation, I decided to apply. I was fortunate enough to be selected to lead the affordable housing trip and thus my journey as a service leader began. In the Fall of 2017, I began my training which covered topics such as conflict negotiation, education on the issue of affordable housing, and information on the area and history of New Bern. During this time, I also learned how to conduct interviews and how to market the trip to BHLP students. After selecting participants for our trip, my co-leader and I outlined our weekly pre-trip meetings to get to know our participants and give them background information on our service trip. These meetings included icebreakers, education about affordable housing/Habitat for Humanity/New Bern, and reflections.
Affordable Housing
On our first day we traveled to New Bern with a couple vans and a car. It was about an 8 hour drive and was filled with fun conversation, laughter, and sing-alongs. From the first day, one of my main goals was to be the early riser and energizer of the group. For me, this was a major challenge because I am not typically an early riser and tend to get a little cranky without a good night's rest. However, I managed to surprise myself because I woke up half an hour early each day to get myself ready and to start setting up breakfast in order to get to the worksite on time. Going into the trip, I was excited to learn more about Habitat for Humanity as well as the global issue of affordable housing. On the first service day, we worked with New Bern Parks and Recreation to lay down sod for a dog park. We learned that since most low-income housing is on small plots of land, children and pets don't have a lot of room to be outdoors. Parks are a great opportunity to bring friends, family, and the community together for barbecues, bonfires, sports, live music, and many other activities. The next day was our first of a few days working with Habitat for Humanity. We met multiple retired active citizens who frequently work with Habitat and learned a lot about safety and tools. Over the next two days we worked on two homes across the street from one another and were even fortunate enough to be there for the roofing ceremony. Looking back on this experience, I wouldn't change a thing. I am so proud of the work we accomplished and feel blessed to have made both lifelong friends and memories.
