Wednesday, February 27, 2013

February 22-23 Outreach Weekend 2013

Here goes another cold and rainy Outreach Weekend! Leave it up to us to make the best of it. We started out the weekend with a great riding/walking tour of the North First street neighborhood and business district. It was a great experience for the students to see this are of town and the real issues that are facing members of their community. The first stop on the tour was at Prosperity Gardens where Nicole Bridges joined us to tell us all about her vision for the garden and transforming the way residents view food. Following Prosperity Gardens we made our way down to the Center for Women in Transition where Mary Wallace joined us to share a bit about what they do. It was an incredibly informative session in which students asked many question and showed quite a bit of interest. Following the Center for Women in Transition, our very own grad student Jose Castillo-Pilcol shared with us his research at the 5th and Hill site. This site has been at the center of controversy in the community, and Jose was able to shed some light on this for the students. We concluded our tour with a riding tour through much of North Champaign and Urbana visiting places such as Douglas Park, the Boneyard Creek, and much more. After our tour everyone was able to dry off and warm up at Jupiters Pizza. Students were able to get to know one another, and talk a bit more about their experiences on the tour. Upon wrapping up lunch the students were divided into 2 groups. One group spent the afternoon working with Nicole at Prosperity Gardens, beautifying the area and prepping for spring planning. They were originally planning to construct cold frames for the garden; however the weather did not allow it. The second group worked at Center for Women in Transition. This group was about to meet some of the residents there, and give them a day off of chores. The students completed the typical chores the women complete on a day to day and week to week basis. It was not only helpful to the women who live there, it also gave the students a firsthand account of the daily lives of the women. Saturday was a much different story. Though it was not rainy, we did have a heavy coat of snow on the ground, and it was still quite cold. On Saturday all of the students worked together at a mobile food bank partnered with the East Illinois Food Bank. We drove down to Gays Illinois and worked to distribute large amounts of groceries to residents in the area that qualify. This was a really eye opening experience for the students, who even got to meet the mayor of the town. Students would help the residents select groceries and carry them out to their vehicles. Rounding out our time in Gays, the Mayors wife took us to visit the one and only “Double-Decker Out House”. It was quite interesting and a nice break for the students. On our way back to town we grabbed a bit to eat at Cracker Barrel and talked a bit more about our experiences. All in all it was a great weekend, and one I’m sure our students will not soon forget.
Students Unloading Food

Our Team

The One And Only “Double-Decker Out House”