St. Peter's- Kaia

Hi, my name is Kaia Dziekiewicz from St. Peter's Parish in Northbridge, MA. This was my first Young Neighbors and I am so happy that we went to Buffalo. My parish was assigned to Catholic Charities Food Bank in Lackawanna about ten minutes from Harvest House. With only nine people from my parish and the help from our site director Carolyn we accomplished things that would take the food bank one week in one day. We bagged over 600 dignity bags for homebound elders. Dignity bags include hygiene products, office supplies, cleaning supplies and other items that they might not have access to. My parish also gave out food to people in need on Friday. We visited Ladies of Charity that was associated with Catholic Charities and made 604 backpacks for grades K-12. Overall, this week has been eye-opening and inspired me to carry the light I received with me back home.

St. Bernard's- Justin and Nate

This week we have had many new experiences from learning to build a fence to visiting Niagara Falls. When we arrived, we both were both unsure about the week ahead. Quickly these feelings were replaced with a sense of joy and hope. At our work sites, we were able to see the change we made in the community surrounding us. The most astounding part was the change it made in us. We made new friends and discovered a sense of belonging with those we worked with. As a whole, we think that YNIA reveals the true potential and mindset of young teens. In our final hours spent at our mission site, we both can say that we are fulfilled by the week with YNIA. It has provided us with an outlet to truly make a difference in the world.

Saint Noel-Rebecca

The last day of a long week. The last gathering of this amazing group of young people from all over the country. The last time I will be in this space as a student. I have learned so much over the past four years, but especially this year. I learned the importance of being not only physically strong for some jobs, but mentally strong. I did not think I could cut down a tree, carry 80 pound bags of cement  on my shoulder, but I did. I did not think I could move a shed with only 8 people and some PVC pipe, or use a jackhammer on cement, but I did. This week was transformative in ways that other weeks were not. We did so much more physical labor than I expected, and that I had done in previous years. My group was not the biggest or the strongest group individually, but together we became strong and came together to do so much. I bonded with my group over our collective sore muscles, and our aching backs, and especially bonded over the accomplished feeling we received at the end of each work day. Overall, this experience is one that I will never forget, maybe because of the people, maybe because of the work, or maybe just because of the experience as a whole.

St. Peter- Ben

        This past week working for Catholic Charities was far better than I expected. Even though the first few days felt slow, even though we got a lot of work done, it picked up and got so much better. These past couple days have easily been the most fulfilling, on Wednesday we assembled 610 Christmas bags and it took all day. It brings me a sense a joy to know that each one of those bags is going to help someone in need and very possibly make their Christmas. Thursday, we moved location and worked at the Ladies of Charity and made backpacks for kids of all grades filled with folders, notebooks, pencils, etc. The ladies who worked there were so welcoming and really made the whole experience better with their hospitality. Finally, today we were back at the Outreach center in Lackawanna and it was food truck Friday! No, not the food truck where you buy stuff, but a semi-truck with pallets of food on it. When we arrived there was already a line for food even though they couldn't get food until ten o'clock. Talking to all the people who I got to give Kaleidos cookies to was amazing today. Overall this past week has been a memorable one and I'll never forget it.

St. Bernard- Sumi

Hello everyone my name is Sumi and I was working on renovating a second floor of an awesome place called the Foundry. The Foundry is a place for people who have a business or want to have one but don't have a space or place to house their business. For our job their we were basically installing flooring. We cleaned the floor so there was not a spot on it, laid down the foam padding that goes underneath, and placed the floor boards on top. It was the same task but it made you feel accomplished with each board you put in because you could see how progress was being made. The person who was helping us has been apart of YNIA for many years, her name is Megan. YNIA helped renovate her house years back. She runs the Foundry. She is a master carpenter and whenever we have troubles getting floor boards in she always seems to have the magic touch to get them in perfectly. We are staying at an amazing place called Harvest House. It has a grand church, more things to do than anywhere else I've been including a juke box, and they have so many different charities running from a second location. They do so much good and in this world its hard to see good sometimes because their is so much bad. We have to look and know there are places like the Foundry and Harvest House, that there are people like Megan who want to help others achieve their dreams and be successful in life. We have to open our eyes wide and take in the whole world before it passes us by.

Peaceprints News Interview

Our site at Peaceprints

Our own adult chaperone Tammy, from Appleton, WI is seen in this interview and it shows some of the great work that YNIA Buffalo is doing to support incredible organizations in this community!

Great Time at Culture Night at the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Museum

Work Sites- 7/11

Our beautiful group from Hull, MA working at Our Lady of Hope

St. Peter's- Lily

     For the first three days of this week, we spent our time at the Lackawanna Food Pantry helping out  Catholic Charities. We packed bags filled with taxable goods that can't be acquired with food stamps. By the end of it we had completed around 610 bags stuffed to the brim with everything from shampoo and conditioner to playing cards. It was great! Christmas bags were tucked in every place we could find and my fingers were covered with blisters from all the bags I had tied. We all felt pretty accomplished, but something was missing. While I knew that we were making a difference, our experience was lacking the human interaction that I was told about. This all changed when we brought our services to an organization called Ladies of Charity.
     As someone who has a family of mostly girls, I've known some pretty strong women, but nothing prepared me for what I witnessed with the Ladies of Charity. The organization is run almost exclusively by very elderly women. I'm not talking about women in their mid-60s who have just retired and are looking for something to fill there time, I'm talking about 90 year old women running there own thrift store and collection of donated goods. In the hallway entrance, there are old photos on the wall of all of the presidents of Ladies of Charity over the years. Some of these photos go all the way back to the 1940s. I met some of the most astounding people in this building who had been volunteering their time for longer than I've been alive. They help victims of abuse get new starts by providing the resources for another home, they give out supplies to hundreds of school children who can't afford it, they provide Christmas toys to low income families with Toys for Tots, and they do it all with a smile on their face. I heard there stories and admired the work they put into their job. Iv'e never seen anything nearly as inspiring as the women over at Ladies of Charity.

St. Noel- Katie and Maddi

This week has been great so far! Half of the St. Noel parish has been to multiple worksites, and they were all fantastic! Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that our group worked with with some days this week. We did several tasks, such as trimming bushes, digging holes that had to be 42 inches deep, cleaning wood out of many rooms, and using jackhammers to break up concrete steps. Besides work, YNIA participated in other entertaining activities. Today, we went to the Underground Railroad Museum and we did many Latin American dance with the people for Amar and Heritage. This week has been exhilarating and tiring, but this is an experience that will remain with us throughout our entire life.

Working Hard for Habitat for Humanity

Working at Wilson St. Urban Farm

St. Bernard - Leah

This is my first mission trip that I have been on, and it has been nothing but inspiring. Maybe it was the 12+ hour car ride that made me realize that I wanted more leg room, or the fact that I was going to be in a new state with new surroundings. Nevertheless, when we got to Buffalo or (Bufafalo as we say) I was surrounded by hope and compassionate people that showered me with gratuity that I was here to make a difference. My group and I are working at the Foundry, it is a place where businesses can go and get started and get the help they need to grow their business. There is this one business that is in there that sells hockey puck bottle openers - that is such a good idea! Anyway, just up the stairs at The Foundry we are installing a floor, for a youth education center. The first few days we scraped the floors, swept enough dust to cover all of America, painted stair cases, clear coated doors, and pet a cute dog named Monster who has brought hope and joy to the group. Putting in this floor has shown the group how hard work can pay off. It is very interesting to see the progress we are making even though this is a week long progress. I find it compelling to see how each of us can make the progress that it would take one person months to do it when it took us weeks. I guess that is a big life lesson, working as a team really makes a difference. This week I was so exhilarated to give more good and hope into the world and I hope others can have the same awakening that I had.

Adventures at Niagara Falls for Rec Night