Welcome!
What do you get when you have five gals, two guys, a big blue van and a
gnome named Mr. Wiggles? The Lost Tribe of Green Five! From February to October
2007, we cleared invasive species in California, gutted homes in New Orleans,
mentored students in Mississippi, and built houses in neighborhoods destroyed by
Katrina – all part of our ten months of service with AmeriCorps NCCC.
Laugh at Orlando for being scared of a two-foot snake, celebrate birthdays
and holidays, and be in the audience when Jared is interviewed by Anderson
Cooper. From California to Louisiana and back, our blog will show you a real
life perspective of this amazing service program from people who are actually in
it. And for more information on AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community
Corps) - or to start your own journey - go to
www.americorps.gov/nccc.
Monday, March 26, 2007
The journey begins...
This is a story all about how our lives got flipped turned up side down. I’d like to take a minute and just sit right there to tell you about how we became Green 5. I think that’s fair.
Read more...Monday, April 02, 2007
Alpaugh or BUST!
No one ever thought that a four-hour drive from Sacramento to Alpaugh, CA could take 9½ hours, but Green 5 is capable of anything! Who knew Redding, CA wasn’t on the way to Alpaugh, and who knew gas wouldn’t grow on trees just anywhere? But upon arrival in the sparse and barely populated town, we realized that our long journey was worth the wait.
Read more...Monday, April 09, 2007
Improvisation: The AmeriCorps*NCCC Way
Green Five has lived in Alpaugh, CA for about two weeks, and after spending all of our time in a town of just about 800 people, we have learned to really appreciate the little things in life. While people living in, say, Los Angeles can go into the city when they get restless, one needs to travel more than 20 miles from Alpaugh to get to the closest grocery store. Our options are pretty limited here, so we have had to improvise and think creatively for our entertainment.
Read more...Monday, April 16, 2007
Green Five's Long Weekend
We had four days free from work this past weekend, so everyone on Green 5 decided to explore California (except for Erin who went to Kansas!).
Read more...Monday, April 23, 2007
Want to Come See?
It was a beautiful, sunny Alpaugh morning, and we “Lost” folks were planting along our faithful canal friend I lovingly named Mr. Canal (the most creative name you’ve ever heard). On the job site, we were joined once again by our sponsor’s son, Nate.
Read more...Monday, April 30, 2007
Preparing for the 25th Hour
“Weeks go by like days” is a song lyric by the amazing My Morning Jacket. It’s also the feeling that Green Five has about leaving Alpaugh. It seems that not too long ago, the team finally, after nine hours of driving, arrived in its Southern California home eager and ready to do some inspiring service work. And now, just five weeks later, they will pull away from the community, probably never to see the people who have made them feel so welcome and special.
Read more...Tuesday, May 08, 2007
One Down... How Many to Go???
With their first project complete, Green Five left Alpaugh, CA for a trek back to their campus in Sacramento. Blaring cartoon soundtracks and eating leftover brownies, the team enjoyed a much shorter trip then originally anticipated, since they were expecting to head south instead of the correct route going north. But alas, we arrived at our destination after all; the first team back from the various projects.
Read more...Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Greetings from New Orleans!
For Green Five’s second SPIKE, our group is working with Hands On New Orleans as team leaders for the volunteers who rotate in and out of the organization. Due to involvement with other people, and not necessarily the rest of the team, each team member will write a personal blog, outlining what he or she has done for the week.
Read more...Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Hands On New Orleans - Hands Off My Beignet!
This week’s blog comes from team member Vanessa Borotz, and covers her week working for Hands On New Orleans.
Read more...Monday, May 28, 2007
Hitting the Ground Running
Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve written one of these. Being a Team Leader and all I know I’ve got boat loads of free time, but I like to spend it at fancy restaurants in cocktail dresses. In all seriousness I love my job, but I’ve just been so busy doing it I haven’t had time to stop and reflect. Lately I’ve been getting distracted from what I was doing and so I figure stopping and sorting it out on paper was just an expenditure I needed to do.
Read more...Monday, June 04, 2007
KaBOOM!
Ok, so after coughing ridiculously for over a week now and going to see two different doctors, many people in the bunk house will be happy to know that I am now on antibiotics and with any luck, I won’t be coughing all night keeping everyone up. I have been moved inside and have now been doing office work, taking over a position in which I know very little about. It doesn’t seemed too complicated though… answering phones calls, managing the T-shirt sales, and trying to get all volunteers to complete a survey before they leave Hands On.
Read more...Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Our One-Month Anniversary
This past week marked the one month anniversary that Green 5 has been volunteering at Hands On New Orleans. I can’t believe it’s been over a month already, for most of us the time is going by way too fast. It really does feel like we just arrived and all of us have grown very close to many of the staff and long term volunteers here. Right now Green 5 is the only AmeriCorps team volunteering at Hands On, after the departure of Earth 1 from the Denver AmeriCorps*NCCC campus. So the whole team has been busy taking on extra responsibilities such as creating a board to identify the long term volunteers that live here.
Read more...Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Dancing in the Moonlight
A full moon hangs heavy over the crescent city. Tonight we will be dancing in the backyard. Folks are lining up for dinner and there is anticipation in the air. Some staff and long term volunteers get ready to pursue new opportunities and say goodbye to Hands On New Orleans as new staff and new volunteers arrive. I wouldn’t say that anyone is ever replaced. Things are always in flux at Hands On and that is simply the nature of this community. We are getting to know Sun One, the new AmeriCorps*NCCC Denver team that moved in over a week ago.
Read more...Thursday, June 28, 2007
Switching Gears
It has been quite while since I last wrote the blog. Due to how our project is this round, with everyone in different locations everyday, we decided to individually write a weekly blurb on what we do. The last time I wrote one, I was team leading for the first time, nervous and excited at the responsibility that it entailed. Oh how the times have changed.
Read more...Monday, July 02, 2007
Leaving New Orleans: Next Stop Trinity, Texas
This is it: Our last week at Hands on New Orleans. After two months of becoming familiar with the city and the community, it was time for us to pack our van and drive away. We all have taken so much out of the experience, and have already become better leaders and citizens because of it.
Read more...Monday, July 09, 2007
Team in Transition
The team arrived at Camp Cullin, located in Trinity, TX, after a brutal eight hour drive from New Orleans. Although it was with three other teams, and that made the rides more enjoyable to be able to sit with other Corps Members, it was a long, long drive.
Read more...Monday, July 16, 2007
Vacation!
Since this week is vacation - summer break, week of amazingness - Green Five decided to recount what each member did with individual stories:
Read more...Monday, July 23, 2007
Welcome to Camp Salvage
After summer break Green Five returns well rested and ready to start up the last half of their service in AmeriCorps.
Read more...Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Continuous Improvement: Getting Things Done
The community room is a pleasant scene. Orlando, Erin and Jared sit around a corner table chatting. Other volunteers mingle about the dimly lit room playing cards, listening to music or conversing. Eagle Six, the other AmeriCorps*NCCC team staying at Camp Salvage, marks the wall before parting tomorrow morning. They are going back to Perry Point for transition into Phase Three. Erin and Jared will soon be leaving us for Summer of Service on Saturday. A lot is about to change around here.
Read more...Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Fluctuation
Things get better and then they get worse. And then they get better again. It seems to be a fluctuation of highs and lows at Camp Salvage. At least that much is consistent. I think we hit rock bottom on Monday.
Read more...Thursday, August 09, 2007
Summer of Service and the Socratic Method
We come home hot and sweaty from digging holes in the sun all afternoon and Che has a surprise for us. A plate full of banana bread, peanut butter celery and smoothies made with fresh strawberries, oranges and orange juice await us.
Read more...Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Greetings from Waveland
Green Five gets a slow start this Sunday morning. One by one we roll out of bed. Orlando is on the phone, Leann is reading and Joann shuffles around the community room making herself some cereal.
Read more...Thursday, August 16, 2007
The Wind Down
There is no getting used to anything when you’re in AmeriCorps. Every week is a different story.
Read more...Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Summer Program Wrap Up
There was an extra rush of energy and excitement in the air during the last week of the Summer Program.
Read more...Thursday, August 23, 2007
TGIF
Where to begin? It all actually started last week, with Thursday’s task of chopping grass with the sickles. We got off way too easy when a passing mower pulled over and clipped the grass for us.
Read more...Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Loose Ends
And now that we are finally getting the hang of laying foundation we are leaving.
Read more...Thursday, August 30, 2007
Back to New Orleans
As Green Five settles into their new SPIKE housing at Camp Hope in the Saint Bernard Parish of New Orleans, the team also gets into the mindset that tomorrow is the first day of fourth round, their very last project in AmeriCorps.
Read more...Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Moving Days
If someone predicted that this week we would finish renovating the second floor of an old middle school, move the entire Camp Hope to this location by Wednesday, meet CNN’s Anderson Cooper and face the possibility of evacuating for a hurricane in the Gulf this weekend I wouldn’t have believed them. And that was my week exactly.
Read more...Thursday, September 06, 2007
Katrina, Anderson Cooper, and a call from the White House
Here I am again, behind the computer at the writing desk to bring you this week’s blog. After spending so much time writing these blogs, and then after leaving for six weeks for Summer of Service, I kind of missed it.
Read more...Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Team Effort: The President, Anderson Cooper, and One Month to Go
Throughout the course of the week each member of the team has had different experiences that stick out at them as what made this week what it is. From meeting the President of the United States to on-site injuries and pulling long hours to meet the 1,000th Habitat house deadline… it was just another week in the Ameri-Life.
Read more...Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The Return of Chelsea!
I don’t often contribute to the blog directly anymore. I’m pretty sad about this fact and wish I had been as hard on myself for diligent writing as I have my team, but that is neither here nor there so I guess I will just catch you up a bit.
Read more...Monday, September 24, 2007
Am I Ready To Be Done Yet?
Tomorrow commences the last week of our AmeriCorps service year. I think about the work we’ve been doing, the roof that we’re decking and all that I’d like to accomplish before we leave. Even with the best intentions time is running out, I don’t know if we’ll be able to finish. I guess the roof is one more thing that helps make the reality sink in—One week left.
Read more...Monday, October 01, 2007
Driving into the Sunset
Driving into the sunset, Green 5 sets out on the road back to Sacramento a day early... A tropical storm warning had been issued for heavy rains that are projected to hit St. Bernard Parish early Saturday morning.
Read more...Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Homeward Bound
Green 5 made it all the way back to Sacramento, California just before sunset on Wednesday. Six days, six states, two vans, and the Lost Tribe of Green 5… What a ride!
Read more...Monday, October 15, 2007
Graduation Day
In the last week of AmeriCorps Green 5 kept busy with final team position meetings, end of the year paper work, making a banner, presenting their final Debrief, writing resumes, and other last minute details.
Read more...- The Tribe
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