Friday, October 17, 2014

Friday Painting Festivities!

The Friday of Fall Break-the day most college students sleep in and catch up with friends or even spend a day in bed with Netflix. But my Friday was the complete opposite. My Friday was a day full of personal and mental growth. Today my Atlanta AFB trip returned to the Rush Center where we completed a very simple task of making phone calls through a phone bank, hanging up boards and painting walls, but a job with a very powerful impact. It was amazing to me that with only a few hours of painting and making phone calls, we supported and helped the LBGT community ten-fold. Because we made phone calls to random strangers, we 14 UT students may be the reason that Georgia eventually allows same-sex marriage. We 14 UT students can also be the key to the happiness of couples from all over the country, just because of this small and easy volunteer activity we completed. Furthermore, because we hung up, painted and beautified boarders and the walls in the main meeting room of the Rush Center, the LBGT community will be able to hang up works of art and even old vintage Pride flags, some which where probably even the first ever flown in Georgia, so that they can further beautify the Rush Center and even bring in people who are willing to give donations to the Rush Center, given that they do so much work with so little funding... Here is a picture of the multipurpose room we painted!
Over all, it really touched me that I only donated about 6 straight hours of my time doing such easy work, yet at the same time, we are making such a HUGE change which can only help and benefit the LBGT community and further promote equality in the future!! :)

I also want to mention that with doing such fun and easy work with my 13 fellow AFB leaders/participants, it's amazing how close we've all gotten in only a day and a half. We went from quietly making awkward noises and comments to now getting full on ab workouts due to intense and crazy laughter!! I love my AFB group so much and I couldn't imagine spending my fall break with anything else!!
 
Lots of AFB love,
Zeenat <3

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Welcome to ATL!

Hello friends and loved ones!

We've made it safely to Atlanta, though driving through downtown was pretty stressful in the UT vans! We were given a great tour of FMCC 


After arriving in Atlanta, we unpacked our things at the First Metropolitan Community Church (FMCC), where we will be staying this weekend. We found out lots of cool information about the FMCC such as it was a congregation desgined to enable anyone (Athiest, Christian, Buddhist, gay, straight, transgender... anyone!) to worship and not feel like a "second class citizen" as well as how it provides programming to local at need communities. Before we left for our first service site, we got to meet the spiritual leader of the FMCC, Dr. Paul and a transgender FMCC employee named Sarah. Our group really appreciated that FMCC was a truly inclusive place, because we felt that in many work places that people identifying as transgender would either 1) not be hired or 2) not be one of the first faces you meet on site. It was a strong representation of FMCC's commitment to equality and set a great tone for our weekend in Atlanta, GA. 


We got to go to The Rush center today, it was rather insane to be quite honest. And we even get to go back tomorrow to continue to help, smiley face. When the group split up,some going to clean and organize while others stayed and attached pieces of wood with screws.... Never trust us with power tools again.... But yes we did indeed get to play with two electric drills and a few people fiddled with an electric hand saw. Now Chef Ryan and his sous chefs currently cook us a highly carbohydrated meal of spaghetti..... Woot woot!!

We just finished up reflecting on our day, and it was really neat to hear everyone's perspectives and thoughts about the day! Talking about how our service (from cleaning a closet to using power tools) allowed the incredible staff and volunteers at the Phillip Rush Center to really focus on all the great things they do for the LGBT community! Off to relax and play games until bed! 

Here is a sneak peek:)

ABLove:)

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Pre-Trip Thoughts




Sarah and I learned we were partners during our Alternative Break Leader training on April 26, and we began tossing around theme ideas for our trip. Once the trip leaders were paired up, we were handed a sheet of paper that had one ABL's interests next to those of their partner ABL. Turns out she and I held similar issues close to our hearts, but there was one in particular that really struck chords with both of us.

Now, after five and a half months, over 100 applications, and several participant meetings later, we're almost to our departure date. We have a grand total of 14 Vols embarking on this adventure, including 11 participants, Sarah, myself, and our Learning Partner, Maryann. We are incredibly excited to go down to Atlanta as a part of the first LGBT-centered trip offered by the Alternative Break Program!

Through this blog, you'll be able to check in on what we're doing each day. We've got some really exciting service and group activities planned, and we're excited to be able to share them with you!

 
-Ryan







Meet the Trip Leaders

Meet the Trip Leaders


Sarah O'Rourke
Hi! I am a Sophomore here at UTK majoring in Social Work with a minor in Psychology. The 2 most important things about me are that I'm addicted to coffee (i.e. the picture), and I LOVE Beyonce! I'm so excited to have the opportunity to co-lead this trip with Ryan to Atlanta :D 

Btw, this is the first time we met! Aren't we cute? 


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Ryan Brown
Hey there! I'm Ryan Brown, one of the co-leaders on this AFB trip. I am currently a senior studying Marketing and International Business, and will ~hopefully~ graduate in May 2015. I love being outdoors (hiking, kayaking, camping, etc), cooking, reading, music, and generally having as much fun as possible. I also love to travel! The picture above was taken on a hiking trail in the Nordmarka, a forest on the edges of Oslo, Norway (where I spent half my summer studying intercultural management at Norway's premier business school).

I'm incredibly excited to be co-leading this trip with Sarah, and I can't wait to hit the road!