We left Champaign early on a chilly, rainy Friday morning and were greeted in East St. Louis by a break in the weather and a sunny afternoon. Arriving at the Mary Browne Center the students met with leaders working with Eagle’s Nest, Fisher Theater, the East St. Louis Parks District, and Opal’s House. Billie Turner provided a tour of East St. Louis and then groups split up to work for the afternoon. My group of students from FAA 291 worked with Essie Calhoun at Opal’s House. Opal’s House is a nonprofit organization that is preparing to open a domestic violence shelter in East St. Louis. The students took a tour
of house and talked with Essie. Then we headed outside and worked in the yard to trim hedges, remove weeds from the fence, and landscape around the driveway. The students were able to use power tools and work as a group on the yard work. On Saturday morning half the group returned to Opal’s House to finish up and the other half headed to Virginia Park to lacquer park benches and prepare for lunch. Heavy rains forced us stop early and head back to Champaign.
