Day 1

We all woke up at 7 am, and came to the dining hall to have a yummy breakfast of pancakes and bacon prepared by our peers. We made lunch for the day, and divided into work groups to go to two different sites in the area. Soon afterwards, my van left for the home of Eunice Raines, an elderly woman who lives by herself in a small, decaying house outside the center of a nearby town. Upon arrival, we were shown around by Mark, a man from ASFC, and he explained to us what we were going to be doing for the next few days. Stray branches, old trash bags and trash were scattered around the yard, and he directed us to sort them into a brush pile and a pile to throw out. We also planned to repaint the exterior of the house. At the time, Burgess Powell, class of '13, knew that we, "definitely have a lot of work to do."

But four hours later, the state of the site had visibly improved. The trash pile had swelled enormously, and the amount of debris in the yard was less daunting than before. Miz Raines' home sported a new coat of white primer, ready for our return the next day. Izzy Mattoon, class of 13', reflected on our work of the past few hours. "Looking at the yard now, there has been a lot of improvement to the house."

-Charlotte Weiner '13, with Izzy Mattoon and Burgess Powell, '13.