Day 366: A Tree For Marie

Patricia here, honored to post the final entry and offer family reflections at the finish.


Who knew that when we started this Service Challenge 365 in 2011 that it was a Leap Year and would end with Day 366 ?!!  So here we are, a full calendar year later, ending this challenge as planned, on what would be Marie’s 52nd birth day.  And as in the case of many journeys, the end can bring us back to the beginning.  We chose to reach back to when we first lost Marie to honor and celebrate her close and heartfelt connection with St. John the Baptist Church and School.  From almost the beginning of Marie’s life with Ron (and later with Meaghan) in Peabody, she was an active member of St. John the Baptist parish.  Marie taught second grade CCD, guiding countless young children through the sacrament of First Communion.  St. John’s church is where Marie’s treasured niece and nephew, Jennifer and Michael, received their sacraments and where her beloved in-laws, Maureen, Bob, Joyce and Mike shared in the Mass and spiritual events of the parish community.  And, not surprisingly, it was where we gathered for Marie's funeral.

                 

 It also came as no great surprise that Meaghan would eventually attend St. John’s School.  Rather, it came as a horrible surprise that Marie would not live long enough to see Meaghan complete kindergarten.  Over the school years that followed, Bianca, Olivia and eventually Sophia,  would join me in an annual visit to Meaghan’s classroom where we would conduct a mini-lesson/project that involved reading and crafting.  Meaghan’s teachers were always so welcoming, supportive and flexible to accommodate our Auntie/Cousin special visits to the school.  We will always treasure these memories that gave us a glimpse of the warm and loving environment that Meaghan was experiencing at St. John’s.

Upon Marie’s death in 2001, her dearest friend in Peabody, (other than her dear and devoted sister-in-law Joyce J) recognized Marie’s love for St. John’s and arranged for an extraordinarily generous gesture of legacy in her honor.  Mary Gauthier, (pictured above with Marie) and her husband Brad, donated a Kousa Dogwood tree that was planted on the grounds of St. John the Baptist School.  A lovely placque dedicates the tree to our Marie F. Bettano.   And perhaps Joyce Kilmer sums up the rest at its best in his Trees poem…….."A tree that looks at God all day, and lifts her leafy arms to pray."  Marie’s tree, like her family and friends, have grown in so many ways…..standing strong, reaching up, branching out, gracefully weathering storms, and most importantly, maintaining deep roots. 

Today, 10 years later, we revisit the growth of that special dogwood tree and treaured friendship with Mary, Brad, Colleen, Kelly and Jimmy Gauthier as we make a little donation in Marie’s memory to St. John the Baptist School in Peabody.  We can’t think of a more fitting entry to conclude our service challenge.  Happy Birthday Marie!! 

              REFLECTIONS

As the powerful lyrics from one of our favorite songs, Seasons of Love, (of the musical  Rent) so aptly share:

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights
In cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

In five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure
A year in the life?

March 26, 2011 – March 25, 2012 will be the year our team measured life in Service. 

Intended to be a way we all gave to remember, honor and celebrate Marie, the journey became as much about receiving, as giving. It became the year when we were especially humbled, learning that there was a deserving cause in every direction we turned. Some familiar with repeat opportunities to contribute; others new or unnoticed until we “turned up the Giving Radar.”  It was the year the family stayed in touch through a personal journal that shared our outreach experiences.  It was the year that through each others’ guidance, suggestions, actions and love, we managed to stay on schedule and attain our goal. (A little gratitude shout out here to our Rinck-Cutler-Bettano-Capshaw family guest bloggers!)  And now, it is a project that closes with a bittersweet sense of accomplishment.  This blog ends; a life time of giving continues.  We are proud to be Marie’s family and we all feel it is safe to assume that Marie would be proud of us!

Day 365!!!: Collington Square Club

Olivia here. Wow!! Day 365. I can't believe this project is finally almost over! It has been a great year of selflessness, generosity, as well as fun and exciting adventures!

For my last blog entry, I spent the morning with the Community Service Council. The CSC is an organization on campus affiliated with the Center for Community Service and Justice that has one-time service projects throughout the year. I am one of the most committed members in the club as the student coordinator tells me (he went to New Orleans with me) so I really must like the events the club runs!  Today, the group went to Collington Square. It is a building made of three row houses (sort of like the houses in NOLA) and is used for a teen youth after school program for kids in Baltimore. Since it is a Saturday, the high school kids were there for SAT prep. We decided to bring them a healthy lunch, so we made turkey and ham sandwiches, and brought tomatoes, cheese, and condiments for them to use. We also brought along sliced apples, chips, drinks, and doughnuts for dessert.

We were told about 18 kids were going to be there, but with the rainy weather and such, only 5 kids were there. Although it was a smaller crowd that we expected, we got to talk with the kids and learn why they participated in the Collington Square Club. One was struggling in English, the other Math, and others wanted to learn how to take tests better. The program is also designed for teens to not go down the "wrong path", living in the rough area of East Baltimore.

We learned that the Club hosts a summer program, where the older high schoolers make lesson plans and teach the younger members subjects such as Science, Math, Reading, and Writing. The kids we met today were enthusiastic about the program and were excited about this summer's activities. Most of them were pretty shy when we arrived, but they quickly opened up to us and even gave us a tour of the building before we left.

I hope Loyola starts a weekly trip to Collington Square. Apparently we had a program there for about 5 years, and stopped going for an unknown reason.

I was unable to take pictures due to confidentiality reasons with the teens there, but here is a (rotated, I can't fix it...) picture of the food we brought!

It has been such a great year. It has got me much more involved in service on campus, and I'm glad I will continue to be involved.

I'm sad I won't be posting my night at Relay for Life this year as it is next weekend, but I will be thinking of a year ago when we started this wonderful service blog with the event.

Auntie Ree, I love you and so glad we could do this project in your honor <3

Day 364: Supporting Hopeline from Verizon

Paul here. Now that we are almost at the end of our Challenge, you would think we have covered just about every cause there is to support.  Well, the sad truth is that there are so many worthy causes that need help, we have discovered that one can never run out of places to turn to offer service or support.  Today, we learned about Verizon's Hopeline program, a campaign which seeks the donation of old phones (of course we have those with everyone constantly upgrading!) to be placed in a collection bin in their stores, that will be recycled to support overcoming domestic violence.  Hopeline strives to both raise awareness of domestic violence and prevent this horrific problem by giving these old phones to at-risk families who might just be a phone call away form safety. It's easy to dislike a large corporation like Verizon, especially when trying to navigate through endless phone prompts to try to reach a human who might actually care about your problem.  However, I give them a lot of credit for trying to address the tragic problems of domestic violence.


HopeLine Statistics as seen on the Verizon website:
Since HopeLine from Verizon’s national cell phone recycling and re-use program was launched
in 2001, Verizon Wireless has:
 Collected more than 8 million phones.
 Awarded more than $10 million in cash grants to domestic violence agencies and
organizations throughout the country.
 Distributed more than 106,000 phones with more than 319 million minutes of free
wireless service to be used by victims of domestic violence.

We are blessed to have been raised in loving, nurturing homes, and it's safe to say that the most violent act in our family is the trapping of a mouse!  Unfortunately many people live in daily fear of physical and emotional abuse.  The road out of this environment is not always clear or easy, but the more education provided by Hopeline and others can give these victims a chance to take control of their lives.  Keeping in mind how lucky we are, and how Verizon is helping these victims, it makes waiting on hold for an agent a bit easier to tolerate.

As my last entry, I want to say how proud I am of all us who made this Service Challenge possible.  It made us think creatively of how we can provide service to those less fortunate.   While many people may have benefited from our efforts, I believe it also helped make us better individuals as well.  If it's true that "the more you give the more you get", then we received a tremendous amount from this Challenge.
I think Marie would be proud of us too.

Day 363: NICU hats and Donation to a Rwanda Trip

Hey everyone,

I cannot believe it is my last blog today! It is so remarkable how we have been able to complete a year-long service blog...it really seems like just yesterday when we started.

As my last contribution, I did 2 acts of service today, neither of which were involved with Relay for Life, for a change! I first brought Nana's homemade premie-hats to the donation center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) where I also work. It is so crazy to think that Olivia and I used to fit into them! Pictures are embedded of these adorable little hats on Olivia as a baby (left pic and bottom pic.)The hat on me in the picture below with Daddy is not with a hat made by Nana as I had finally "graduated" out of the smaller size, knit hats.  Look how tiny our hands were at a almost two months old!!

As my second "bloggable" event today, I donated to my friend Liz's fundraising efforts for her Rwanda trip. At the end of the school year she is going to Rwanda for 10 days to help the village youth in the town of Agazho-Shalom village. Liz was one of my very first friends at Penn, and she is also a nursing student with me. She has been a very generous friend over the years and I am happy to support her cause. Check out the website below!

http://PennABQRwanda.causevox.com/

Day 362: My Weekly Volunteer Visit to Hospice

Patricia here.  It hardly seems like a week has passed since visiting My Friend at the nursing home hospice center, but indeed it is Wednesday again, so off I went to see her, hoping that she would be alert and responsive.  I found her sitting in the rec room, eyes closed, but aware that I was visiting.  (Apparently she had just had her medications, and they make her quite sleepy.)  I was glad to see that she still has the sunflower ribbon I gave her tied around the arm of her wheelchair!  Today I brought her a St. Patrick's Day ribbon tied around a silk rose.  Although she never was able to open her eyes, she did lean in as if to smell the rose when I said that I brought her a flower. We visited for only about a half hour as she really needed to go lie down and sleep, but during that time she held my hand tightly and heard all about the corn beef and Guiness bread that Sophia made for Paul's birthday dinner; the daffodils starting to bloom in our yard;  Marcia's dress for Laura's wedding; and on and on.  Eventually I decided to read excerpts to her from my book "Chicken Soup for the Mother/Daughter Soul" as I've been told that hospice patients often like to be read to...which is probably much nicer than hearing me ramble on!  Overall, it really was a lovely visit.  I met her nurse who told me that My Friend once drove in the Pacer Car at NASCAR!!  Simply amazing to learn little tidbits of the vibrant person she once was.  If only she could share her stories with me....

Day 361: Easter Baskets for Kids

At Saint Luke's Church, the parishioners were invited to participate in the Easter Project--fill an Easter Basket, attach a name tag of a girl or boy and age. One requirement was to have an age-appropriate book in the basket. The baskets will be given to 150 children formerly at Sandra's Lodge and now living in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Waltham. These homeless children live with their mothers in shelters, motels, and subsidized apartments. I decided to participate in this project and make a basket to give in memory of my dear friend, Ruth, whose birthday is tomorrow. She and I loved doing the Giving Tree at Christmas and the Baby Shower around Mother's Day at our church, so I'm sure, had she known about this project, she would have participated with her love.

Day 360: Relay for Life-Let's Wrap it Up!

Hey everyone, Bianca here. Well, it's finally about time for Relay (FINALLY!!!). With just 12 days left, we have already committed 589 participants, 98 teams, and have raised $26,600. This entire week, MArch 19-23rd, is our annual Paint the Campus Purple Week, which is a huge Relay awareness and fundraising week before the actual event. It is great to see this week finally coming into place, because it has been so stressful to plan! I have been coordinating with individual team captains to host fundraisers during the week. The idea is that we would have at least one team hosting a fundraiser, or at least participating in a Relay-awareness activity, each day of the week. Hopefully this will encourage more people to donate and register, as we are still pretty far behind our $125,000 goal. I have attached a picture of the schedule of events for this week.

In preparation of this week, we wrapped the entire campus in purple. Streamers, balloons, posters, banners, etc in order to spread awareness. We also put little flags all over college green, so those who want to sit on the grass to do homework have no choice but to acknowledge them! Unfortunately, the chalk had wiped off Locust Walk pretty fast, but most of our decoration stayed. My camera's memory card is for some reason not registering in my computer, but you can imagine a campus painted purple!

This week I am also contacting all of the team captains to coordinate fundraisers for the day of the event as well as contacting performing arts groups to provide entertainment. We already have a lot of responses, which will hopefully attract a lot more students!

Not only is Relay important to me because it is a night when I honor those loved ones who I have lost to cancer (Marie, Papa, Great Aunt Charlotte and Aunt Dianne from Portland, and many others), but there is another recent influence in my life who I would like to celebrate at this event. Upon coming to UPenn Nursing, I was awarded the Melissa Sengbusch Inspirational Scholarship. Melissa Marie Sengbusch was a young woman who was diagnosed with cancer just before her enrollment in the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. Sadly, after a courageous battle, she died from her cancer when she was nineteen years old. Her parents, the scholarship sponsors, wanted to honor Melissa's legacy at UPenn and have founded a scholarship in her name. Each year, they award a member of the incoming freshman class with this scholarship.

After hearing Melissa's story of dedication and courage, and after meeting her parents (who I truly consider members of my family even after only meeting them three times), I am going to honor Melissa at this year's Relay for Life. I will be posting her picture, along with pictures of Auntie Marie and Papa, in the slide show when we are honoring those that we have lost. If possible, I will also be speaking on behalf of Melissa and her parents to share her inspiring story with the Penn community. Although I cannot possibly begin to explain every remarkable experience of Melissa's journey, I have posted a link below that explains her scholarship and provides insight into her incredible story.

After putting in so much time and hard work over the past eight months, I am really looking forward for Relay to finally happen and see the campus come together to support the disease that affects so many, as well as taking a moment to celebrate Marie, Papa, Great Aunts Charlotte and Dianne, and Upenn's Melissa, who will always be in my heart.

http://www.melissaslivinglegacy.org/about/story.html

Day 359: Special Olympics Coaching

Paul here. Very challenging practice today! My co-coach has been troubled with migraine headaches, and although she showed up, had to leave at the beginning of practice.  She is a great partner, and I really sympathize with her since I have had brief encounters with migraines.  Not fun.  So I was by myself with the lane.  Usually not a problem, but then I hear one of my swimmers was in the locker room thinking she was going to have a seizure. She came out and was willing to practice, but I was asked to keep an eye on her.  That is hard to do with six swimmers at about 4 different levels of ability, but of course I did my best to watch her carefully.  The hardest part of getting them going is that when I have them lined up and in order to start swimming the particular set, they take so long from the time I tell them to go (and what stroke to do, and for how many laps, etc) to when they actually go, that the people who started first are already done and need attention.  When I finally get them going, the other swimmers are either trying to pass, or are coming the other way and creating a blockade of swimmers.    It was very chaotic for a few minutes (while keeping my eye on the seizure prone girl) but out of desperation I had to have a quick meeting.  I told them my problem and they need to go as soon as I tell them to go.  All of the sudden it seemed like I had six different swimmers in my lane.  They were in perfect order, with comfortable spaces between them.  We had the best workout I have ever had with them.  It was incredibly satisfying.
We got so much in I thought they were getting bored, so I took a chance and came up with a new drill.  One challenge I had was getting them to practice at a racing pace.  It is always difficult with many swimmers in the lane because if you are getting too close to the swimmer in front of you it is hard to keep your pace.  Also, relative to my problem of getting them to start at the right time, when they get to the meets, they are not prepared to start quickly.  So I decided to pair them up and work on 25 yard sprints.  They just do one length  at a time, side by side as if they are racing the person next to them.  They don't have anybody in their way and can really work on just going as fast as they can.  I could not believe how fast they went!  They were really enjoying the chance to sprint without fear of bumping into anyone.
So we got through the practice in great shape (no seizures) and everyone worked very hard.  I was proud of them and was very satisfied I finally found a way to approach future practices.
As this year-long blog will end this month, this post is my last chance to share updates on my weekly Special Olympics coaching experience, so I'm glad it ended with such a great workout.  We are looking forward to the Summer Games this June and the many workouts in between.

Day 358: Relay for Life

Nana here and Buppa here. Today we sent a donation in memory of my dear friend Shirley Ring (my walking buddy of 21 years) who had a bout with breast cancer a few years back. We donated through the Relay for Life at University of Pennsylvania. Bianca is a team captain and works hard for all the meetings and functions leading up to the Relay which is to be held on March 31^st.

We hope that they surpass their goal because of all their combined efforts for such a worthy cause.

Day 357: Supporting Nora

        Hello, this is Sophia. I guess this will be my last blog because all of the rest of the days are "booked" if you will. I just wanted to reflect that I would have never thought that I would be this involved as 11 (and now 12) years old. This blog has taught me that whenever you support a little cause, you make yourself, and usually others, feel good. I learned that it is so easy to do a little special something every day for others.
         This specific blog entry is special because Nora (you will find who she is later in the post) has cancer just like Marie did. This project has been wonderful experience and all of the hard work and effort put into it was worth it. Auntie Ree would be so honored.
                          ************************************
Continuing on with my blog for the day, there is a girl in 8^th grade in my school named Nora who has been fighting the devastating disease of cancer for multiple years now. She has been doing well for a while now but recently it came back again. She has many friends at our school that care for her who came up with the idea to sell “Nora Live-strong Bracelets” for $2. They were being sold at lunch and in the morning. As you know, the cancer cause is very close to us considering my aunt had it. Nora has a younger brother in my grade who I am friends with so without a second thought, I bought a bracelet. On one side it says "BELIEVE" and on the other side it says "NORA". (I'm wearing mine in the picture) I was very happy to see that a lot, and I mean A LOT of people were wearing the blue bracelets at school today. Nora will be in our prayers as we all hope that she heals quickly. 

Day 356: Volunteering in Mexico

Well...sort of !  Patricia here, and today was a special fiesta celebration for Sophia's Spanish class.  Her teacher arranged for the students to experience "lunch in a Mexican school."  The kids were expected to dress in the familiar white shirt/tie/blue pants uniform of Mexican Schools.  A separate area of the dining hall was decorated with red/green/white table clothes and a traditional lunch menu including quesadillas, Mexican black bean and corn salad, brown rice, tropical fruit salad and "Tres Leches" Cupcakes was featured.  I was happy to be able to volunteer to set up, serve and clean up after the event.  It was a treat to see Sophia and all her classmates enjoying the buffet, each other and even their teacher (who is the adult in this picture) during the fiesta....which I am told was followed by the traditional Mexican "siesta" in the empty auditorium!  There are so few opportunities to visit the classroom in middle school, so I am grateful to have been "chosen" as one of the volunteers who were privileged to spend couple of fun hours in Mexico!

Day 355: Spending Time with My Friend in Hospice Care

Today is Wednesday, the day I have dedicated to making a volunteer visit to My Friend through Hospice.
Last week was a very difficult visit; today was wonderful!  When I arrived at the nursing home, I could see a concert pianist in the adjacent reception/recreational area playing beautiful music for the residents who gathered to listen.  I glanced the group, searching for my Friend, but she was not there.  As I headed to her room, I looked further down the hall and there she was, sitting upright in her wheel chair, all dressed, alert and ready for the day.  I asked if she would like to join the concert and she made it clear that she would (my first small victory!) by nodding and pointing in the direction.  I sat with her, and watched her cry as she was clearly moved by the beautiful music.  Perhaps she played the piano at one time?  I'll never know. But just seeing her engage in this event was so special and heart warming.  After about a half hour, she was struggling to say something, so I asked if she wanted to leave and she seemed to say "yes", so I wheeled her to a quiet corner and talked, and talked, and talked to her some more.  She held eye contact with me a lot and even said my name!  I'm absolutely sure of it!!  She can't say much even though she is clearly thinking a lot.  She tried to tell me something about being a painter.  I just kept reminding her that "I'm trying so hard to understand, please be patient and hopefully I'll soon know what you are trying to communicate."  After about 1 1/2 hours, I was leaving and the nursing aides came over to get ready to bring My Friend to lunch.  And then here's what happened.  I stood and said good by, and thanked her for letting me visit with her for so long.  And she reached for my hand and tried so hard to speak and then finally found the words, belting out "Thank You".  I gave her a hug.  Walked out the door.  And then cried a few tears of joy!
I realize each hospice visit will be different, but now that I've experienced both ends of the spectrum in just two visits, I would imagine everything in between just might be okay.

Day 354: The Blessing of Grandparents at Easter and Always

During the Easter Season which is upon us, our church seeks contributions to help purchase the abundance of beautiful Lilly flowers that adorn the altar and welcome entry on Easter Sunday.  Any individual who makes a donation to this effort is welcome to request a prayer for a "special intention" that the St. Theresa Ministry Team will be sure is prayed for by the parish in the upcoming weeks.  Most commonly, prayers are asked in memory of  lost loved ones or for the improved health of someone very ill.  Although we could certainly make a long list of lost or ill loved ones, Paul and I have chosen to make our special intention be for our long-lost grandparents.  We were both blessed to have known all four of our grandparents, which is indeed a rare gift.  And perhaps even greater a gift, I was able to get to know Paul's Grandpa and Nana Schwey, and he met my Nana Keefe as well as my Grammy and Grandpa Rinck. We have shared many wonderful memories and stories of time spent growing up with these remarkable individuals who gave us the ultimate gift.....four amazing parents that have shared in the lives of each of our children, making all of our lives richer in only the ways that loving grandparents do through the generations.  So today we made our contribution and chose our grandparents to be our "special intention"; Jack and Bertha Keefe, Albert and Alice Rinck, Henry and Sarah Schwey and David and Gussie Cutler, of whom I am sorry to say that we do not have a picture to share.  Jack Keefe, top left; Henry and Sarah Schwey, top right; Bertha Keefe, lower right; Albert and Alice Rinck, lower left.

Day 353: Remembering Aunt Dianne

Hello, Patrica here. March is not only the month that we remember the birthday of our beloved Marie, but also the month we remember the loss of a dear aunt, Paul's godmother, Dianne Schwey Richman.  Aunt Dianne was such a special person we were all privileged to know....a remarkable mother, aunt, twin, sister, daughter and friend. She passed away from cancer in March of 2004, spending her final days at home with her adoring, devoted  and loving family.  Aunt Dianne, her wonderful husband Eddy and their two beautiful sons, Mark and Jeff, were such a pleasure to visit with on our trips to Portland during the 80's and 90's to see Paul's relatives.   We have such fond memories of our travels north to visit with the Richmans and Aunt Judy and Uncle Abe, Aunt Rita and Uncle Eddie, Aunt Helen and Uncle Harvey, Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Hy, and all the terrific cousins. They always made our family feel so welcome and loved.  Aunt Dianne and Uncle Eddie seemed especially smitten with my children, as they treated Bianca, Olivia and Sophia as though they were their own ....showering them with love, affection, visits to Boston and of course, many unnecessary but very much appreciated gifts.  Upon Dianne's untimely passing, she so passionately declared that her beautiful collection of dolls would be left to Bianca and Olivia. We were thrilled to be thought of as worthy of her prized treasures. To honor Dianne's passing, her son Jeff and his awesome partner Bill (with whom I have way too much fun with at Seder's and dance way too crazy with at weddings!) established a Dianne Schwey Richman Memorial Fund at Clark University, the college where they met, studied and worked.  Such a beautiful gesture. Because Aunt Dianne was a tireless advocate for children with special needs,(she was co-founder of Parents of Learning Disabled Students), her family created this memorial  fund at Clark to dedicate the monies to support future Clark students who have special educational needs.  We were happy to contribute in 2004, and today, eight years after her passing, we are happy to again honor Aunt Dianne and her family with a small donation to the Memorial Fund that honors both her namesake and humanitarian efforts.  Why again, 8 years later?  Honestly, as this year long blog comes to a close this month, we wanted to be sure to acknowledge all the love and connection we feel for our entire extended family in Portland.  We are blessed to have/had all of them in our lives.

www.clark.edu

Day 352: NOLA!

Hey all!! It's Olivia here and I'm back from my spring break service trip in New Orleans!! I had an absolutely wonderful time!

Day One: Sunday, March 4th
We had to meet at 4:30am to catch a shuttle to BWI Airport. I had a group dinner the night before and finally finished packing around 11pm, so waking up at 3:30 was a struggle, but we all made it to the shuttle and off we went! We had a connecting flight in Ft. Lauderdale, and I wished I had enough time to stop by Nannie and Indy, but I was thinking of them! We got to New Orleans early afternoon, and arrived at our housing location: Common Ground Relief (CGR), in the Lower Ninth Ward. This organization began in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina and was one of the first responders to rebuilding, fundraising, and medical care. CGR has a model home next door that we stayed at, but we ate breakfast and dinner with the organization leaders. A group of girls from James Madison University in VA also stayed in the house with us and arrived later that night. After we settled in, off we went to adventure! First we went to New Orleans City Park, which is sooo beautiful! The landscape was so green and the gardens were so pretty. We also went to Bourbon Street in the French Quarter: incredible!! We had dinner at Cafe Beignet, where I had gumbo and a beignet, which was delicious! We headed back to CGR for a nice long sleep. Unfortunately, I struggled with my allergies ALL week, and I was taking antihistamines every 24 hours, which helped some, but it was still a struggle as my sinuses and nose were stuffy the majority of the time!
Day Two: Monday, March 5th
Today was our first work day! We got up and had breakfast by 8. We went to the Audubon Lousiana Nature Center, where we worked on wetland restoration. We learned that with every mile of wetlands, the wave surge decreases by 1 foot. Most of the wetlands have ruined, and the saltwater from Lake Ponchartrain killed a lot of the wildlife. It also brought in a foreign plant species, the Chinese Tallow. This plant is extremey fast growing and one tree sprouts over 100,000 seeds. These trees were everywhere! They can be cut, but a special chemical has to be sprayed on it 30-60 seconds after its cut or else it will continue to grow. We spend the whole day cutting the tallow, from the size of small plants to trees! We also went grocery shopping for snacks for the week, and ended up at Walgreens. Where Google Maps said there was a grocery store, it was nowhere to be found. Apparently, the flooding moved the stores, but Google hasnt updated the maps since the hurricane. The man we talked to shared that when he returned from his evacuation, he had to keep guns on him at all times, for alligators and wild boars would run around attacking people. He said, "Alligators can run up to 35mph, so if you ever need to run away from one, run in a zigzag pattern!" Haha good to know! Later at night we went to tour the St. Louis Cathedral with the University of San Diego, in Jackson Square. It is the oldest continuing cathedral in the US. We had a special tour, so we went up to the bell towers at the tippy top of it and could see a beautiful view of the Square and the Mississippi River through a small vent in the rickety wooden walls. We also got to hold the chalices that Popes Benedict and John Paul II gave to the cathedral. I learned that archbishops and bishops from the cathedral that have passed away are buried under the altar.

Sanding-I'm in the back in the purple shirt

Day Three: Tuesday, March 6th
Today we spent part of the day doing construction work. We helped sand down sheetrock! This house was a "double home", meaning the porch had two doors on each side for two seperate familites. We almost finished both houses, so we spent the majority of the day there. We spent the night in, talking and playing a game called "Mafia". It was a relaxing night, and we got to sleep early.
Day Four: Wednesday, March 7th
We had another day of environmental work. We went to a nursery and planted cyprus trees and redbud trees. We must have planted 200 trees! At night, we saw a lecture about immigration in New Orleans. It was really interesting!!
Day Five: Thursday, March 8th

An abondoned house, still with the "X"
on the door stating date inspected, #dead
etc. 

Me painting!

This must to have been the worst and best day of the trip!! We painted a house for an older couple and their three year old grandaughter. The original color of the house was the color of our house, and we painted it a salmon pink color. The man was so adorable! Every five minutes or so he would ask if we wanted water, and he kept thanking us for our work. I was talking to him individually and he said "I'm a preacher myself, and I keep saying that God will help us all. And God brought you guys to me!" I said I was happy to be there, and he responded with, "Well, then God Bless You! God bless you, your parents, you got any brothers and sisters? (I nodded) God bless them too!" He was so sweet and appreciative of our help. Unfortunately, we had a day planned in the city and had to leave early, but it was a great morning/early afternoon! We went back to CGR and quickly showered, as we had a tour at a museum exhibit called "Katrina and Beyond". It was all about the hurricane and why the floods happened, and shared some peoples stories. It was fascinating, but so sad! This is where my day went downhill: I was in the museum bathroom, and as I was leaving my purse fell and I picked it up and I whacked my head against the latch to the door. It was one of those hits you feel through your whole body. It swelled up in a second (literally) and I walked out of the stall my friend screams, "its growing! you need ice, now!" Everyone in my group was confused as to how I could hit my head that hard, but I was too! I went with my leader to a nearby restaurant where they gave me a bag of ice, which helped, but I still have a bump on my head, and I've have a headache since the accident. My friend was nice as he offered to help me find a pharmacy for advil, and it eased the pain a little. I don't think I have a concussion, but I've been keeping a close watch just in case. Anyway, we went to the French Quarter again and did some shopping, which distracted me a bit. I got a fun Mardi Gras mask and a I Love NOLA shirt. At night, we went to a blobk party where the girls from USD were staying. They stayed in a house of Sisters, and they were so cute! A few of them reminded me of Nana and Nannie. The party was fun, and I got to meet with the Indian Chief of Mardi Gras! He makes his own costumes by hand, and they are beautiful! It was a fun night, I really just wanted to get some sleep. As soon as I got back to CGR, I fell asleep!

Brad and Ellen!!!!

Day 6: Friday March 9th

A port near a levee

Today, CGR didn't have any plans for us! They told us we could have a free day, so we used the time to our advantage. We went to another water source that overflowed and walked along the levee. We also said goodbye to the Sisters, and we actually hope to be housed with them next year during this trip. In addition, we saw a Food Co-op, full of organic, healthy food. Yum! We went to the Loyola New Orleans campus too, which was beautiful! The highlight of the day was seeing Brad Pitt and Ellen DeGeneres!!! Brad started the organization "Make It Right", where he's building 150 eco friendly, structurally sound, roof-escapable homes in the Lower Ninth Ward. There was a fundraiser that week, so he came by to work on some houses and see the progress. He was showing Ellen around, but we got to talk to them! We first saw Ellen across the block and she waved, but we ran over and she told us to give her 5 minutes and she'd come down and talk to us. She's so sweet, and thought it was wonderful the work we were doing. Brad did too! We ended the day at Cafe Beignet/Bourbon Street, and had dinner at a local restaurant, Parkway Bakery. I ate alligator!! Well, it was a smoked alligator sausage, so it was pork meat and gator meat in a casing, but it was still alligator. And it was sure yummy! Tasted like chicken!
Day 7: Saturday, March 10th
We had a early start, as we went to a farmer's market and then to the airport to Baltimore!

The group!
(If you zoom in you can see my bump...)

For more info about CGR, visit www.commongroundrelief.org.

Day 351: Epilepsy Foundation Donation

Patricia here.  Savers stores and the Epilepsy Foundation New England Donation Centers have teamed up to convert donated clothing and household items into cash. The sale of the all the collected items to a company called Savers, Inc (there is one located near us in Framingham) generates revenue for Epilepsy Foundation  programs that support families living with this awful medical condition.  So whenever we are solicited to contribute a donation, we are happy to fill a bag with assorted items worthy of resale, and leave it on the front porch for that early morning pick up.
www.epilepsyfoundation.org

Day 350: Muscular Dystrophy Campaign in Florida

Patricia here.  Greeting from Boyton Beach Florida where Bianca and I are having a wonderful, albeit too short, visit with Nannie.

One of my favorite sayings of Nannie's is "if you live long enough......" which she uses whenever the seemingly impossible happens.  Which happens a lot these days!!  Well... today I lived long enough to help my 83 years young mother-in-law find a gorgeous, totally elegant and fab ensemble for her first grandchild's wedding, and as soon as we were out of the bridal boutique, we headed over to, ahem,  a lovely Wendy's fast food restaurant...!... the first time I've been in a Wendy's in my 50 years!  Aside from the pleasure of Nannie, Indie and Bianca's company, my favorite part of Wendy's is that they were "selling shamrocks" to support Muscular Dystrophy.  Definitely worth the visit to contribute to this most serving cause.....beautifully working muscles are a beautiful thing.

www.MDA.org     

Day 349: American Diabetes Association

My American Diabetes Association Package came yesterday and today, I sat down and wrote the "Dear Neighbor" letters to 12 of the neighbors. As I read through the info included, I read that 1 out of 13 Americans are affected by this disease. The one person who comes to my mind is Buppa's twin brother, Allie who had complications from this disease. For him, I am happy to assist in this campaign. I also noticed that this year, Cary's Sugar Free Syrup is matching donations which will be a great help to the program. Bruce Rd hasn't responded too generously in the past, but I hope this year will be different and we will make our suggested amount.

diabetes.org/support

Day 348: Hospice Patient Visit

Just like a "first day of school", my first day of visiting with a Hospice patient was filled with all kinds of emotions and anxieties.  Would I be able to connect with the patient?  Would he or she be receptive or responsive to my visit?  Would I run out of things to babble on about in the hour long companion visit?  Would I be able to tolerate the smells of the nursing home? Yet of all these very real and familiar volunteer curiosities, what I experienced was actually none of the above.  The aforementioned thoughts were no longer of concern as what I was faced with when I met my first patient was shock and an overwhelming sense of sadness.  My patient, whom I will call "My Friend", is a darling senior woman who is suffering from the final stages of Alzheimers.  The AseraCare Social Worker assigned to her case is an absolutely lovely and compassionate gal who is perfectly suited for her role.  She took me to the patient'sroom to introduce me, and we were both in disbelief when we saw the patient.  Apparently, My Friend had taken a drastic turn for the worse, deteriorating dramatically within just one week, and she was visibly distressed, lying helplessly in bed and unable to communicate.  She hadn't been dressed for the day as of yet, so she looked especially frail and sad.  The social worker and I immediately went to her bedside and tried to visit with her.  I took her hand and she slowly opened her eyes, which I am told means she acknowledged me.  But then she was trying to get out of the bed, which I knew was not safe, so I had to call for the nurse while I easily kept her 80lb frame in bed.  My Friend now knows all about Bianca, Olivia and Sophia.  What she actually understood of my nonstop chatter I will never know.  It was so difficult to not be able to help this tiny, very sick woman, be more comfortable.  Eventually, the nursing home aides came and washed  My Friend, dressed her and wheeled her out to a sitting area.  She looked wonderful!!  What a difference!!  She even had an adorable straw hat on.  My friend was still unable to communicate, but I think I did get a few responses....meaning she would lean into me or tighten her grip on my hand.....like when I told her that Paul's birthday is on St Patrick's Day as I know she is Irish, and that I make quilts.  My Friend's profile states that she was a painter and a civil rights activist.  I can only imagine her talents and intelligence in action. It's so profoundly sad to know that she can no longer contribute her gifts to the world.  After what seemed an eternity, an hour had passed and I left, letting her know that I will come back next week.  I only hope she will still be there.........

Day 347: Cupcakes for AseraCare

Sophia here!  It was time to make the cupcakes for the AseraCare Hospice patients!! I made the plan to do them the first Tuesday of every month, and Mom will deliver them on Wednesdays. This month I did green for St. Patricks day. I put little clovers on (m&ms) and green sprinkles!!

Day 346: Cashmere for Crafting

Patricia here.  A good friend of ours works for a company that makes beautiful cashmere sweaters and accessories. Over the holidays, I became the lucky recipient of a couple of boxes of his discarded cashmere swatches that were once used to determine color and lot quality for product development.  Truly, they are absolutely gorgeous!  I was able to sort through and save the pieces that I thought would be useful for the Cutler gals to eventually sew with ...but there still so many pieces remaining that I felt could be used for craft projects through someone's creative genius.   Today I contacted the Natick Library which has a hugely active and successful children's program, and they were thrilled to know that such a treasure chest would be dropped off to them tonight!  Happy crafting!!

Day 345: Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation

Bianca here.
Today, I was lucky enough to be invited to the Boston Celtics game against the New York Knicks. My friend Alex had an extra ticket (row 10!) and the ticket was free (for me at least...haha) so it was an offer I couldn't refuse! Believe it or not it was my first Boston Celtics game. We won 115-111 in overtime, but it was a pretty close game for the entire 4 quarters. There were some incredible performers during halftime and commercials as well, including an incredible drumline band composed of only elementary school students, as well as a hip-hop dancing group of kids ages 8-11. So much young talent! As I was walking around the edge of the area duringa commercial break, there was a table selling raffle tickets for the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation. Of course I did not win, but below is the mission of this foundation:

The mission of the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation is to extend the reach of the Celtics championship legacy into our community. The Shamrock Foundation benefits our children directly, through programs that provide education and support. The Shamrock foundation also partners with community based organizations that provide healthcare, shelter and vital services for children in need.

This year our community partners are Perkins School for the Blind, Children's Hospital Boston, Horizons for Homeless Children and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC).

I figured it was a more worthy purchase than a T shirt! Th

ere were updates every couple of minutes on the jumbo-tron, showing how much money they had raised through raffle sales during the game. Last ti

me I looked it was nearing $3,000 just for the one game! Not bad for a couple hours, huh?

I am glad to have been able to go to the game today and get back into my Boston Pride mode before going back to Philly!

Day 344: Hurricanes and Tornadoes

Olivia here.  Tomorrow I leave bright and early for New Orleans to help the Katrina victims! I was at the mall today and noticed a donation box for those who have lost their homes in the recent mid-west tornadoes, so I dropped some change in!

I'll be blogging about my trip when I return on the 10th, so keep a lookout!

Day 343: Contributing to the Greek Church

Philip and I are visiting our dear friends ,Joan and Frank, in Florida. Frank's brother and sister-in-law are very active at/in the Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church here and every Friday night, the church has a supper to benefit the church. Tonite, we went to the supper and it was delightful! There was a wonderful choice of meals --fish, stuffed peppers, and lamb to name a few--and each one of them was delicious according to all those at our table.Volunteers from their very small congregation do all the preparing, serving and cleaning up. We met some of Joan and Frank's friends--one couple from Waltham, Ma and another from New Hampshire-and discussed the weather in New England among many other things. Another reason we were happy to be supporting Archangel Michael Church, is that is the church that our dear friends and former neighbors, Jack and Nancy Jarnis attended and helped build, when they were living here in Florida . It was an evening of friendship, satisfaction and love and we were so happy to support their cause.

Day 342: Grilled Cheese Bake Sale at UPenn

Bianca here.  Tonight, my pre-healthcare fraternity is hosting a grilled cheese bake sale outside of one of the campus bars. All of the proceeds are going to Relay for Life. One of the fraternity brothers lives across the street from the bar, so it will be easy for those partaking in the Thursday night bar-scene to mingle on over. Bake sales outside of bars are generally very lucrative, so I'm looking forward to seeing what our profit is. I just spent the last half hour over a the house setting up and putting together pre-made sandwiches. I made about 35 before my shift was over! I will probably stop by later tonight to check in how the sales are going. Hope it's a success!