Thursday, March 30
For our last trip, we went down to the ReStore warehouse in Maple Shade, where we were welcomed by a staff member named George. Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that uses its profits to build homes and give people the opportunity to afford decent housing. When we arrived at the warehouse, we were split into four groups with four people in each, and quickly got to work. One group moved windows, another rolled carpets, another cleaned up debris, and the last one moved around furniture. Other jobs included organizing products and shelves and tidying up around the warehouse. We brought our lunch and were able to eat around the warehouse, and after eating we got straight to work. George was very happy with the results and everyone enjoyed our company. Intensive Learning was a great learning experience for all of us.
Friday, March 31
Today we had a group discussion about everything we have done to serve our community in the past week. We have made placemats for Cathedral Kitchen, done yard work at the Perkins Center for the Arts, helped to clean up the playscape, played with the Lower Schoolers, helped out at Urban Promise, and organized in the Habitat for Humanity Restore. While we all may have been doing separate tasks on each day, our group shared one takeaway: giving back to the community was an incredibly rewarding experience. Not only did it feel great to help others, we also learned a lot throughout the week and made new connections. Overall, our South Jersey Service group is leaving for spring break knowing that giving back feels good.