Thursday, July 11, 2019
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.
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.
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.
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