Prepare for Departure!

I'm a planner, I think things through long in advance, so as I look back it doesn't surprise me that I started thinking about Spring Break this past fall. And somewhere along the way I became determined to do something meaningful on my break. In doing research for this "meaningful" experience, I found a program called ASB, short for Alternative Spring Break, where college students get together and do community service in Louisiana as part of the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort.

It sounded perfect to me; a structured worthwhile program specifically for college students during Spring Break, so I applied. I had no idea how selective the application process would be, the fact that the program pays for meals and lodging suggests that their is some degree of competitiveness, so I worked hard on my application and essay, making sure it was well constructed and free of spelling errors, the demise of oh so many applications.

Weeks later I was so excited to receive an email saying "welcome to ASB 2007."

Now I'll be headed to Lake Charles, Louisiana, this Saturday morning, for a week of community service, doing mostly physical labor removing debris and painting and cleaning up schools and other community buildings and homes. The program is sponsored by MTV and the United Way, and we will be staying in the shelter at the United Way headquarters for the Lake Charles area.

I unexpectedly received a package from the ASB program yesterday. Inside was a t-shirt, box of candy, and a FexEx planner and stuffed animal.

When I head to Louisiana this Saturday, my blog will take on a new focus: my Spring Break experience and comments and views on the ASB project, and South West Louisiana in its current state.

I wanted to go to the screening of the Spike Lee film, "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts" to get some more background information before by trip, but I had to work when it was being shown at USF last night.