Extreme Home Makeover

On Friday the 13th Extreme Home Makeover aired the series finale. The two hour special focused on Joplin, Missouri. The episode is able to tell the story of the devestating tornado as well as the personal stories of seven families. The show was able to build seven homes in seven days for seven families who had their lives turned upside down. Eyeopening and Emotionally, the episode is able to encompass many, yet I am sure not all, of the feelings and stpries that are held in Joplin Missouri.

Check it out- http://abc.go.com/watch/extreme-makeover-home-edition/SH559052/VD55163148/joplin-family-part-1 

Watching the show, I was filled with so many emotions. My heart broke and ached immensley for the families and individuals affected by this storm, yet I was filled with encouragement and strength knowing that Joplin can and will be rebuilt making it stronger than ever before.

Kendra Sampson
Trip Leader

2012 is here!

The new year is here which means Alternative Spring Break 2012 is right around the corner! As many reflect on 2011, many agree that some of the most powerful images of the year have come from Joplin, Missouri. I stumbled across: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-most-powerful-photos-of-2011 where two of the images were from Joplin, Missouri. It was a strong reminder if why we have chosen this as the location for ASB 2012.

A man sits in front of a destroyed apartment building following the Joplin, Missouri tornado. (Reuters)

A before and after shot of Joplin, Missouri after a massive tornado on May 22.

The pictures say 1,000 words. I just can't wait to get the opportunity to help.
:) Molly
ASB Trip Leader 

This week ASB's future is changing!

Hello All!

This week is full of new beginnings for ASB's 2012 future!  The other two leaders and I are going to be picking two trip advisers and having a long (but well worth it) Friday night picking out the twenty new members for Alternative Spring Break 2012 to Joplin, MO!  

There is no way for me to even describe how excited I am to be joined by 20 new members.  Each individual that is accepted should feel proud of themselves for joining a team that wants to make a difference in others' lives.  This experience is something I would not give up for anything in the entire world.  For those of you who do not get accepted to the ASB trip to Joplin, MO. I really hope that you apply to the ASB Local Trip, everyone needs help whether it is 400 miles away or right across the street from Framingham State University.

Please keep an eye open for upcoming events that help support our trip to Joplin, MO.  These next coming weeks are the FSU DANCE SHOW, SILD TRIVIA NIGHT, and GLEE FSU STYLE!! 

Cannot wait for this year's ASB Group... So many fun times to come!!  


Don't forget to add the Facebook page and email us with any questions fsuasb2012@gmail.com.


**ALL APPLICATIONS ARE DUE OCTOBER 14TH BY 5PM!!**

Krista Landry
Fundraising Trip Leader

 

Only 153 more days until ASB 2012!

This is a big week for Alternative Spring Break 2012. It is the week that applications are due! I remember being in this place last year, wanting more than anything to attend this trip and trying to figure out what to write in my application. However, there was a brief time that I hesitated submitting my application.

Looking back, I wish I had never hesitated. Where would I be if I hadn't applied? Could I really have missed out on this opportunity? For many people the idea of leaving home to travel somewhere new is scary. I know I felt that way! The thought of attending a trip that none of my friends were applying for also scared me. But then I remembered this: at the end of ASB I would be able to look back and say that I did my best as one person to make a difference, that I was able to step outside my own comfort zone to help someone else so much worse off than myself. If anyone out there is hesitating, I encourage you all to keep the bigger picture in mind. As scary and uncertain as new experiences can be, they can also be life changing and wonderful.


This time last year I hardly knew anything about Alternative Spring Break and now it is a driving force in my life. This one trip has literally turned my academic life upside down, leading me to switch my major, and has allowed me to reevaluate what my true purpose is in this world. Imagine if I let my own fears and hesitation in applying hold me back? I don't think I would be who I am without Alternative Spring Break.

So please, please apply. You owe it to yourself to see what it is all about :)

Looking forward to hopefully reading your application on Friday!
Molly

Our Next Adventure

Hello!

For those of you simply curious about what exactly Alternative Spring Break is and does, ASB is a trip which takes place during spring break in which a group of students dedicates time and energy to volunteer for a community in need.

Once again Alternative Spring Break is on a mission. This year we have chosen to travel to Joplin, Missouri to aid in relief work from the recent tornado on May 22, 2011. Emergency managers reported damage to 75% of Joplin. Nearly 7,000 houses were destroyed and over 850 others were damaged. The estimated damage is 3 billion dollars, making it one of the costliest tornados ever. The tornado ranks as one of Missouri's and the United States’ deadliest tornadoes killing159 people.

The organization we are working with this year is called Project 195 (http://www.project195.org/) . Project 195 works with all UN recognized countries in the world to promote sustainability is assist in relief work. The organization's mission statement is: "To promote and instruct so that all nations can do their part in stemming, abating, and reversing tragic events affecting the Earth and the those we share it with." The organization aims to work closely with volunteers to make volunteering as accessible and affordable as possible.

The trip leaders are so very excited about this project and are thrilled with the growing interest on campus. Applications for Chaperone position have been sent out to the entire faculty and student applications are currently available on Collegiate Link (https://framingham.collegiatelink.net/organization/alternative-spring-break/documentlibrary). We will be reviewing the applications in the next couple of weeks and soon we will have our amazing and motivated group of 26!

As always, please feel free to contact any of the trip leaders for more information!

Be Well,

Kendra Sampson

Trip Leader 2012

 

Homework!

At our last meeting, our trip leaders handed us a bright slip of paper that asked us to recap our experience any way we wanted to.  I'm....not so good with the creative things, so I elected to post another blog entry!  Yaaay!
Something that I forgot to mention during my first post was the documentary that Kendra has us watch, called Trouble the Water.  It was taped by a woman who stayed in her house when the levees broke, and we saw the town around her get enveloped by the water.  People lost their homes, their pets, their family members...but they didn't just sit on their roofs and cry.  They didn't despair.  They THANKED GOD.  I found that so amazing.  They were thankful for their lives, and they knew that God would bring them out of their hardship.  I was in disbelief.  I doubt that I could ever stay that positive if there was 10 feet of water in my town and I was floating along on someone's front door.  And then the next day, when we took the bus tour, it was so hard to imagine water that high...and seeing houses that were still empty, still dilapidated....a whole shopping center just abandoned...it was heartbreaking.
I've gone on service trips before, so I wouldn't say that my vision of service or volunteering has changed after the trip.  My favorite part about my church was always the opportunities I was given to go on service trips.  I only wish that someone had told me that SILD existed before now.
My boyfriend has always told me that a lot of things in life aren't worth getting mad or worked up over.  His advice got put into a whole new light on spring break.  Not one complaint was heard from the group, because not only were we totally PSYCHED to help out these people, but if you think about it--why should WE complain?  We have houses.  We have a place to live and even have the luxury to take time out of our lives to give someone else a place to live.
Complaining gets you nowhere.  Coming together with hammers and nails gets you a house.  Which would you rather do?
--Joanne

"Everything is build from the foundation up"

ASB 2011 was honestly the best trip of my life. When I found myself at the planning meeting I could not honestly have known that I would have gotten so close to as many people as I did on the trip. The trip brought friendship, community, accomplishment, understanding, hard work, rewards, and so much more.

When I got to Kendra's house the night before we all left everyone was bubbling over with excitement. Those who had been on the trip last year understood what we were about to embark on, and those who hadn't, myself included, barely had a taste of what was in-store for us. After a very quick 2 hours of sleep the alarms started going off and we were on our way to New Orleans. When we finally arrived in New Orleans and got to our destination, of the church, we were all exhausted but still buzzing with the excitement of being somewhere new.

The first full day we were in LA we got to sightsee, seeing the devastation that was still affecting our own country because of something that happened over 5 years ago was heartbreaking. But it was really encouraging to see new homes being built, and neighborhoods that have been recovered. I was really glad that we saw the devastation of the city before we began working because it helped me to understand the circumstances the people who we were doing Habitat for came from.

The work we did during our workdays is the reason we all got so close. We didn't have a choice but to get close. Personally I worked on the roof for 3 out of the 4 work days and it was such a sense of accomplishment to see the roof beginning to where we left it in the end. The kinds of things we did included dragging plywood across the bare structure of the roof to nail it into place, laying down a protective barrier to keep out moisture, and finally we nailed in shingles.

It's hard to pin-point exactly when during the trip we all started working as individuals and came together to accomplish one common goal, but that was a vital point of the trip. When we let ourselves break down the 'stereotypical barriers' that the school community has and started working as a group regardless of who we were interacting with is when we really made the difference. That is also what set this trip apart from any other work/mission trip that I've been on before, and what made it honestly the best trip I've been on thus far.

It's really hard to put into words exactly the feeling that we all had at the end of the trip. We all definitely knew each other better then we could have even expected at the beginning of the week. And there was a sense of excitement to get back to everyday life. But there was also a clear sense of sadness that we were all leaving something that we had worked so hard on during the prior week.

Looking back on the trip now I can't express how glad I am that I went on the trip. It definitely made an impact on my life that I will never forget. I am so glad for the work we did and I feel so rewarded by the sense of accomplishment that I have.

To everyone who went on the trip; thank you for the memories, experiences, and laughs that we share. Each one of you is incredibly driven and can accomplish amazing things in your lifetime. Stays focused on the goal and live each day to its potential. I hope that you take the lesson that you learned on the trip and apply them to your own life (no matter what they are). Thank you all, and I hope you all are successful in where ever life brings you.

- Erin :)

"Love others, as I have loved you"/ the other half of T2

     Yayyy ASB! Let me just preface by saying that this trip was absolutely amazing. I enjoyed so many things about this experience. Meeting all of you has been such a blessing to me. Every single person who went on this trip is so passionate about helping others; it never ceases to amaze me how awesome you all are. I was deeply inspired by the incredible heart of all of you. There were so many laughs on this trips...and I cannot thank you all enough for the awesome memories I have from this trip.
      "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart" Colossians 10:13 ; This quote kept me going, even through the heat exhaustion, tired arms from hammering, and lack of sleep. Serving others is so incredibly important to our society. How can you not want to give back when we in Framingham, MA, are so fortunate?! This trip definitely taught me so much about myself. It also taught me that there are so many people in our own community that need to be outreached to.
       I am not sure of what else to say, other than I love all of you. You have all taught  me so much about myself, and the passion with which you all serve others is truly inspiring. It was so awesome to see 30 unique individuals come together to serve with such conviction and love for others.

<3 Taryn aka 1/2 of T-squared =)

Thank you. Thank you for being good, hard working, dedicated and genuine people. I am honored I have been able to meet all of you or get to know you better. You warm my heart when I think of you. You have changed me for the better. 
Keep the inspiration alive.
<3

'Gon down to the bayou for some Po-boys and Gumbo, ya'll!

Hello boys and girls! What a trip. Looking back, it's pretty unbelievable to remember everything we did in the past week. I completely agree with Kendra in saying that summing it up to those who weren't there with us is an impossible feat. One of my favorite memories was the car ride into New Orleans Friday night. With the radio blasting and the lights of the city passing us by, we all sang our hearts out to Aerosmith 'Don't Wanna' Miss a Thing' and Elton John's 'Tiny Dancer'. I thought about that ride in comparison to the first car ride to the Slidell Mission Center. I felt so connected with everyone in that van. It's such a fantastic feeling to know that in just a week, complete strangers can become  family members (even if they are a bit dysfunctional). Each and every one of us learned so much and took so much away from this experience. I am so grateful that I got to be a part of it, I wish I could be back in my squeaky bunk right now.

I miss the sun
I miss the accents
I miss the jazz
I miss the shingles
I miss the laughs
and most of all...

I miss the jambalaya!

kidding, most of all I miss spending my days with my fellow ASBers (although the food was pretty spectacular)

<3 Kerrin Duffy