Arriving in STL and Easter Seals

March 15- We left at 8 am from Knoxville and arrived at Hope United Church of Christ at 3:30 central time. Upon arrival, we unpacked our things and were greeted by a member of the church. To our surprise, not only did the church give us free housing, but they also provided us snacks and ice cream. After un packing, we all went to the park across the street to play frisbee and walk around while Dan and Kristen went grocery shopping. When they got back, we helped unload and then began dinner preparation. Some helped make the grilled cheese and others made soup. After a delicious meal, we played Mafia, Signs, and Cards Against Humanity. After playing games for a couple hours, we went to bed around 10:30.

March 16- Everyone woke up around 8 to eat breakfast and make lunch. Around 9, we headed to a house run by an organization called Easter Seals. Easter Seals is a government-run organization that provides housing for disabled adults. Clients are provided with a home or apartment, where a staff member lives with a group of them. The program also allows clients the ability to work and make their own living. We worked at one of the locations where three people lived. At this house, we raked leaves, trimmed hedges, and did mulch work. Lindsey, the staff member that worked with us, provided us with water, snacks, and t-shirts. Throughout the day, she talked to us and asked us why we wanted to come on the trip. After finishing the work at this house, we took a lunch break at a local park. The weather was in the mid-70's which made us apprecieate our day working outside even more.

After lunch, we went to another house that was owned by Easter Seals. This house, however, had a ton of leaves that were still there from last fall. Initially, we were intimidated by the amount of leaves, but we all worked together and worked hard and got the job done faster than we anticipated. In total, we filled 70 utility bags with leaves. While working at the second house, a neighbor approached Hannah and asked why we were working at the house. After explaining the purpose of our trip, the lady was very impressed. This made us all feel great because we made an impact on other people, not just the residents of the house.

Around 3, we headed to the YMCA to shower. When we got back to the church, we left our things and headed to Dairy Queen for free ice cream cones. They were accepting donations to a children's hospital and some of us contributed. When we returned, some of us got to work cooking spaghetti for dinner. After we ate, we played a game of "Lifestories", where each person answered a question about their life. After, we had our reflection period where everyone talked about their highs and lows of the day.

Today, we learned a lot about the Easter Seals program and the impact that it has on the disabled population of St. Louis. Through serving with this organization, we learned that we can still make a difference on the individuals' lives without working with them personally.

You can also check out Easter Seal's blog feature on our group here!

-Bryan Shrader and Aditi Rangnekar