In A Nutshell

The only guy on the trip, me, dillon. This week has provided a tremendous experience for me in levels I cannot describe. I honestly didn't know what to expect leaving Memphis, and heading into Joplin. I didn't know what we were going to do, or what we were going to see, but if I were expecting based on my prior knowledge I would say it lived up to everything. The things I saw were heartbreaking to certain extent but on the other hand I felt like my efforts provided a sense of hope. This week in a nutshell (A big understatement) Day 1: We went and did clean up at a house that was hit by the storm the group expected to be doing more including me but that day we realized that every little bit counts, also the house still had common household products in it, which caused me to realize that these people didn't expect this and that we may take things for granted. Day2: We did work in the tent for the church folding clothes for the victims who need them, we also did work in the warehouse they had us gathering clothes for the people in need. Day3: We started our three day project at tornado victims house, whose name is Mr. Phillips. We did yard work for him and due to his age he wasn't able to to keep up with his yard. Day4: We continued yard work for Mr. Philips...in the rain! We had to cut the work short. Day 5: We finished Mr. Phillips' yard and planted six trees at people houses. Like I said, that was this week in a nutshell. There are plenty of other things we did even outside of community service, but this week a has been a true learning experience. I will remember for a lifetime and friends I will remember also.

Last day, Birthday, Great Day!

Hello my name is Syra Capehart and I am a junior with a major in Health services administration. Today has been a very interesting day and we got a lot accomplished. We finally completed the yard work at Mr. Phillip's house, and he was very pleased with what we had done. It felt good to finally finish his yard since he wasn't able to. He had been having many health problems and he could not do any yard work, so I was glad that we could help him. Today was also my birthday and we went out to eat to celebrate it. It was very nice and thoughtful of everyone to do this for me. They also gave me a card with many positive comments inside. It really made me happy that everyone thought of me on my birthday. I was even more pleased with the remarks inside, because it showed how much everyone has gotten to know me as a person. We also planted trees today which was also fun. Today was my first time planting a tree. Overall I had a very good day. Today is our last day in Joplin, and I must say that everything has been great. The people in Joplin have been so wonderful and supportive. Our group has also been wonderful and I am glad that I got this experience. I have developed relationships with people that I hope to maintain.

Last go 'round

Hello there! It is Briona Jackson! I would give my information, but I would rather get straight to the point. So, waking up on the last day of ASB I could only think about how much of a drag today might be because, of course, I cannot wait to get home to my shower! However, today truly exceeded my expectations. Once we arrived at Mr. Phillips' house, I knew that the day would be ok. He always has some sweet, encouraging words for us, and as usual, we worked our butts off! After finishing Mr. Phillips' yard, I could feel a wave of relief flow over the group. It was great! We finished, and seeing the end results of our hard work was priceless. It is incredible what can be accomplished when you mix a group of exceptional students, teamwork, and dedication. I must admit this has been one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had. Not many people get the chance to support peers, serve the greater community, and hang out with some of the best people in the world all in one week!

Motivational Day 4

My name is Monica Wilson and I am a Business Finance Major, with a concentration in Real Estate. Today I enjoyed being motivated by my director and my other group members. It was our second day doing yard work at a man named Mr. Phillips house. Even though it rained today I was proud of how everyone did not give up. When I looked around and saw everyone working hard it helped me to work harder also. I also liked the fact that even though the weather was getting worse as we worked, we all would not give up. We all were very excited to go back to Mr. Phillips' house, because he was so nice and appreciative. We all were very focused and got so much work done in two days. He was always trying to help us even though he was not able to. I am happy to be working with a determined group of people. Hopefully, tomorrow the weather will be as beautiful as Wednesday and we will be able to get the job done.

Mr. Phillips Part 2

Good evening everyone this is Lauren Perry and I am giving you an update today. Today, we went back to Mr. Phillips house. Monica, Angie, Briona, and I worked on getting his yard together. We removed branches, sticks, and much more debris from the side of his house. Dillon, Briona, Mandy, Ebony, and Vanezia worked on raking leaves and finishing the yard. Mr. Phillips was very thankful for all of us helping him. He was a very nice man. All of us worked really hard and we have been this past week. We were almost done with the yard work but then it started raining very hard. Our goal is to come back tomorrow so that we can finish cleaning his home. Look out for a Mr. Phillips part 3!!!!! Thanks for keeping up with us!!!!! #Team Joplin!!!!! :)

Mr. Phillips

Hi everyone!! My name is Ebony Macklin and I am 1 out of 10 students on the ASB trip to Joplin. I am also a resident advisor at the university. Today was so awesome even though our work from the previous day was ruined due to the tent collapsing. Starting off the day, we removed most of the clothes from the tent and stored them in boxes. I'm not sure where the people of the church put them but I'm sure they stored them in a better place. After that we went into a neighborhood to help an elderly man who could no longer keep up his yard. Mr. Phillips was his name and he is by far one of the the best people I have met in my life. He was very appreciative of our work and even came in the yard to offer his help. There was so much work that needed to be done in his yard but we got so much accomplished. I can speak for everyone that this one was of the best sites that we went to. Once all the work was complete, we went out to dinner at a local grill and bar called the Undercliff. Yes it is actually built into the cliff!!!! It was something that we had never experienced in Memphis and it was a cool experience. Overall today was pretty great and I'm looking forward to tomorrow!!!

We are here to volunteer. Period. 'Nuff said.

My name is Mandy Martin, and I am one of the student coordinators for this year's ASB trip. Today we had a sad set back. For the first half of yesterday, we organized and labeled and folded clothes to be donated to people without. Sadly, we had to stop because of some really strong winds. Even sadder, today we found out that the tent we had been working in had half collapsed on all our hard work. We helped them to remove the clothes so that the tent can be taken down, but it was so sad to see all that work reversed. However, our day took a full 180 when we were assigned a new project. We were sent to Mr. Phillip's house to clean up his backyard. At first I didn't understand why we were working here instead of on a project more directly related to the tornados. I soon learned that I had been looking a this trip all wrong. We are here to volunteer. Period. 'Nuff said. I had to realize that community service is serving others. It is helping those who can't help themselves. Mr. Phillips had been in and out of surgery for the past few years and isn't young enough to get yardwork done anymore. That is all one needs to know before jumping up to help. At the end of a full day of hard work, I took a trip around his yard to find that we had made more than a dent in progress! As if that wasn't enough to make me feel like we'd accomplished enough, Mr. Phillips gratitude was! Today's sight was one of my best memories from this trip thus far. Many of us are hoping to comeback and finish up the rest of the work. But as for now, we are going to find a tasty Ma and Pop to eat. Now that's exciting!