These past three weeks have been very busy and I have a lot to fill you in on. On November 8, we ended the month long training with a formal induction into AmeriCorps. The day was bittersweet, as we said good bye's to all the friends we made because it was also the day everyone leaves for their first project. Some teams ended up finding out they were going to be sent out east in response to Hurricane Sandy relief, so we had company for a few extra days.
On Veteran's Day, my team went downtown for a 3rd annual Veteran's Day Parade. We set up for the parade and watched everything come together. Marching bands, mustang convoys, corvette convoys, old fire trucks, Miss California, Miss Los Angeles, Republic of Vietnam Veterans, and of course American veterans were all in attendance. After the parade, we cleaned up and went to the capital where there was a ceremony and free pizza for volunteers! I also had the honor to meet Nicholas Popaditch. In 2003, his unit was a part of the invasion of Iraq and tore down the statue of Saddam Hussein. He is known as "The Cigar Marine" because there is a very famous picture of him smoking a cigar in celebration of the statue removal and his 12th wedding anniversary, both occurring on the same day. He is missing his right eye after he was hit by an RPG in his second deployment. Instead of a pupil, he has the eagle, globe, and anchor Marine logo in his eye. He received a purple heart for his duties, and is a true American icon.
(Nicholas Popaditch and myself after the parade)
As mentioned in the previous blog, my team's first project is with Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (SFBFS). Our first day (November 8), we were introduced to the staff and given the layout of what was expected of us. We were told they have a very busy upcoming three weeks and that we should be ready to get some real work done. Some of the events are the Turkey Drive, Turkey Distribution, and Run to Feed the Hungry Marathon, all hosted by SFBFS.
The turkey drive was on Friday, November 16. We were up at 5:30 and helped out all day in the parking lot of SFBFS. The turkey drive is a huge deal in the Sacramento community, as they're goal is to serve around 6,000 families. Throughout the morning, we experienced a news group, a horse carriage (Wells Fargo), two story shopping cart with a 420 HP motor, official Nascar of some dude sponsored by NAPA, a convoy of corvettes, and a dodge truck overloaded with chrome! My job for the day was to tell cars where to pull up in line 3 to drop off their turkeys. So Ariel, one of my teammates, and myself waved cars in by "pulling" on an invisible rope. When a car would drive towards us, we would lunge forward, pretend to grab the rope, and pull back as if we actually had the rope around the car. I know I know, we're dorks but we had a lot of people laughing. We also listened to the same 31 songs for 13 straight hours. The total amount of turkeys that were donated was 6,300 or so. Meaning 6,300 families will be able to have a free Thanksgiving meal courtesy of SFBFS and the sponsors.
(Ariel and I posing with the Rivercats mascot. Rivercats are the AAA minor league team for the Oakland Athletics)
(Corvette Convoy. Each corvette had turkeys in the trunks)
(My personal experience of "Big Red". Pretty sweet, huh?!)
For turkey distribution, which was on November 19, our day wasn't as long. My job for the day was greeting people by the entrance, telling them "Happy Thanksgiving" and to have their ticket out and ready. Overall, I probably interacted with over 4,000 people. Almost everyone had a great smile on their face and were so grateful for what we were doing for them. After lunch, I covered the exit for a few hours. I'd continue to tell them "Happy Thanksgiving" and to please keep the line moving. One lady, in her 30's, was coming out of the exit when I told her to have a great day. She stared at me while walking and ended up running into a lady in front of her. She then told me how I had the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen. After blushing hardcore, I told her that she made my day. She then said that everyone at SFBFS made her day and she was extremely grateful for what we are doing. This is just an example of how positive the attitude was that day.
On November 23, the highly anticipated Run to Feed the Hungry finally arrived. My team, along with 25 other Corps Members from AmeriCorps showed up at 6:00 AM and began helping out with the set up right away. Since Hunter and I were running, we were told to rest before the race. When we were walking around, we had to fight our way through the crowd of 27,000 other runners. The 5K (3.2 miles) began at 9:00 and I ended up running it in just under 22 minutes. Along the route were numerous blues bands. One band sitting outside a church was just warming up so I yelled out "Freebird!" Another band near the finish line was an Elvis impersonator. I actually ran faster when I heard him, not because I was motivated by the music, but because it was awful and wanted to get away from it. Afterwards, I changed into my AmeriCorps uniform and volunteered for 3.5 hours. More information on the run: The Run to Feed the Hungry is one of the top 3 marathons held on Thanksgiving day in the country! They raise 1/3 of their money just because of this event. Thanks to everyone back home, I helped raise $245 for this amazing organization! Thank you all so much!! I really appreciate it.
I have been very busy here in Sacramento, California. I am the teams Physical Training Coordinator, Project Outreach Liaison, and Vehicle Safety and Tools Secondary. Volunteering at churches and gardens on the weekends to fulfill my 80 hours of independent service is also keeping me busy. I am very happy with what I am doing, and I know that the Ameri-life is the life for me. I can't wait to see what the next few weeks have in store for my team and we are all excited to get more hands on with individuals. I will keep you posted in the facebook world with all my teams activities.
Can't wait for winter break!!
Love Always,
Connor
