Still Working Hard

Last night we had thunder, lightening, heavy rains and hail, but by mid-morning today blue skies and abundant sunshine greeted us. We have been lucky to have the dry weather so that work can progress on the ramp project. Today we finished building all the support braces and posts so that we are pretty much ready for the decking and railings tomorrow. Ramps are a great analogy for life. You have to figure a lot of stuff out, make a lot of mistakes along the way, but in the end what you have is beautiful and functional.

The Itmann Food Bank received another group of students today to finish up the floor painting from yesterday. They were so efficient in that task that they helped organize and sort items for distribution day on Friday. The floor looks fantastic and I’m sure those on Friday who see it, will notice a huge difference.

The third group made the long drive to the Baileysville Head Start. Not only do the NIU students have a great time working with the kids, they are able to give the students some one-on-one attention. In addition, the Head Start facility receives additional funding that is based on the volunteer hours at their location. This service activity has become a cornerstone of the NIU trip for all of these reasons.

Tonight the students opened up The Way Youth Center where they are staying to allow the teens and pre-teens in the area to have a save place to play. It was a great opportunity to meet a segment of the population that they would not usually be able to work with.

We are looking forward to another great day tomorrow….more ramp, more Head Start and St. Vincent DePaul.