Hold on tight, we're taking a right

Our final day ended with us delivering 6 meals to clients in Silver Spring, MD. We are so grateful to have worked with Food & Friends Inc., especially since it is the first time ASB went to Washington D.C. A special thank you to all the family, friends, and those at Kelley who made our trip happen!

Before we hit the town at night we went to the Holocaust museum and took an extensive tour of the exhibits. After that, we took a Monuments by Moonlight trolley tour, where we took in all the glory of Washington D.C. at nighttime.

When we got back to the hostel we all sat down and reflected upon what we had learned from each other during the week. We are all very unique, but individually we have each brought something special to the group. Kacey, the outgoing and charismatic one; Joe, the funny (and hungry) one; Dev, the Investment Banking (I can have a conversation with anyone) guru; Meghan, the most motivating and outgoing site leader EVER; Kristina, the passionate and well spoken one; and Alyssa, the most graceful and responsible one.

Sleeping in the same room with 40 others, definitely brought us closer and going home tomorrow will be bittersweet.

20 hours until we reunite with Bloomington!

D.C. Out

Mr. Chicken & Miss Pudding

We continued to perfect our delivery system today, handing out meals to 9 clients in the D.C. area. Later we completed our final day of working in the kitchen, stuffing 150 meal bags. (Shout out to Chef Jerry who oversaw our assembly line, and gave the food proper titles, eg Mr. Croissant)
This week, we have especially enjoyed talking to the Food & Friends staff, because all are passionate about the work they do.
We also are impressed by F & F's policy of anonymity, because it protects clients who may unfortunately be discriminated against due to their illnesses.
Since we are in Washington D.C., the political capitol of the world, our team has been inspired to reflect on the government's involvement in poverty and other social issues. It's amazing to us that our Nation's Capitol has such a strong dichotomy between the wealthy and poor.
We have had a great week so far and are looking to our final day of delivering tomorrow!
D.C. out
Interesting Fact: Jenny from Forrest Gump was a victim of HIV/AIDS.

6 miles

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
This morning we delivered frozen meals & groceries to 12 clients in Silver Spring, MD.
In the afternoon, we prepared special-diet meal bags for 200 clients.
Through our experiences, we are surprised by how many clients are young and/or have children. We are impressed that F&F not only provides meals, but also nutritional counseling. HIV/AIDS and cancer patients probably have some of the most costly medical bills, so food is more than just nourishment, but an opportunity to spend money on their medications. F&F aims to reverse the cycle of poverty, by combating underlying social issues. Our ASB team will take away a valuable lesson of being less judgmental, because we have realized how many people are products of their unfortunate environments.
Because of our ASB trip, we have all been inspired to enter the business world with a sense of social duty and moral responsibility.
After volunteering, we headed straight to the Lincoln Memorial, and got lost en route to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. We calculated that we walked 6 miles in total! At least we had warm, sunny weather to walk through!
D.C. out

Hair Nets?! Oh Yeah

This morning we delivered meals and groceries to sixteen clients, all within Washington D.C. We then faced our culinary fears and bought two "New York" pizzas, which we all agreed were disguised Papa John's pies. In the afternoon, we formed an extremely efficient assembly line and bagged over 200 meals. Afterwards, we rolled up our sleeves and cleaned the work space, which included washing dishes.
After volunteering, we walked around beautiful and sunny D.C., touring the Air and Space Museum. Dev and Joe's, aka Maverick & Iceman's, bromance blossomed when they rode the Flight Simulator together!
On the way to dinner, we ran into some fellow Indiana residents at the Smithsonian Castle, and gave a HOO-HOO-HOO-HOOSIER shout-out.
We ended our day watching the sunset from the Washington Memorial.
DC out.
PS - Our dope group is currently working on a sick flow that highlights our D.C. trip to a fly beat....stay tuned!

Like I said....

We arrived in D.C. Sunday evening safe and sound, and settled in to our home for the week, First Trinity Lutheran Church. (Shout out to our helpful hostel coordinator Don, a chatty fellow, who had a tendency to use the phrase "like I said" over and over again.)
This morning, we were eager to start volunteering with Food and Friends. We had an orientation to the program at 9am, then delivered meals across Silver Springs, MD until noon. We were able to deliver to 6 clients, dropping off the meals individually at their doorsteps. It was a hectic experience navigating around town, but we all enjoyed doing it together.
Food and Friends is a wonderful organization which provides meals to over 1 million people per year. Although clients are served based on a medical qualification, most of them fall below the poverty line. The two main illnesses that affect FandF clients are cancer and HIV/AIDS.
After deliveries and lunch, we were treated to dessert at the Old Ebbitt Grill by IU alum Erika, a business graduate. After walking around downtown D.C., and a photo shoot in front of the White House, we visited the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History.
We then enjoyed a lovely meal at Wok and Roll in Chinatown.
In order to have sufficient energy to compose this blog, we had a chugging contest (video posted later) of Coca-Cola.
D.C. out, like I said.....D.C. out!
Monday's Interesting Fact: Washington D.C. has the highest new infection rate of HIV/AIDS, and is 10x that of any other U.S. city.

Pre-trip

We having been planning our trip since last June 2009, when I was teamless at the time and first submitted my Site Preference Form. Hard to believe the months have flown by so fast as we prepare to depart this Sunday, March 14th!
The first time all 6 of us met was for our Social Activity on January 17th. We shared a nice, relaxed dinner at Mother Bear's. It was clear from the beginning that our group, although very diverse, was eager to come together as a team to volunteer.
Our Volunteer Activity took place last Friday, March 5th where we joined the NYC trip and other CLDers to fold and mail letters at Hoosier Hills Food Bank. It was evident that all team members, regardless of the task, put their best efforts forward when it comes to helping others.
On Sunday we will depart from Bloomington at 6:00am. I hope we aren't all too tired since we lose an hour of sleep! It will be the first time to D.C. for most of us, and since we will be delivering meals across the area, thank goodness for a GPS!
On behalf of my fantastic group, thank you to all who have made this trip possible! We look forward to sharing our experience with you!
ASB & DC Love,
Meghan - Site Leader, '11