Day 3

Today our team volunteered at Holly Hill. At this site we engaged in more indirect service and helped with the landscaping at the facility. Initially we picked weeds and trimmed the bushes surrounding the buildings. After working with children directly at other sites, it was nice to work on "another" side of the service perspective.  We did not interact with the girls at the facility, but we helped the very few volunteers who are able to work there. We later picked up walnuts and spread mulch in a garden; it was amazing how our team has developed and bonded. We all not only enjoyed the service, but we also enjoyed each other's company as well. While accomplishing all our tasks, we also made many memories.  This site illustrated how there are many ways to help serve and not just the direct volunteering that many people think of initially.

- Nick Campbell from Cincinnati's Child

 Despite the fact that Katie is not allowed to use power tools at home, she does an amazing job at trimming hedges for Holly Hill.

V-O-L-S!

After a long and windy day of service at Holly Hill, we came back and got cleaned up for our night out in Cincinnati! We ate at Venice on the Vine, an amazing pizza place that was able to connect with our goals for service. The restaurant is supported by a program that provides work for members of the community that have substantial obstacles to employment. All the waiters and servers were previously unemployed due to various circumstances, but the non-profit works directly with those individuals to create successful jobs. We were also able to meet some student leaders from Xavier University who also participate in service trips there!

We then walked around downtown Cincinnati, and saw the beautiful murals and architecture! My personal favorite: Bretzals. It was a fancy pretzel shop where I got a fresh cinnamon pretzel and had cinnamon honey butter! The city had a great energy and was completely different than many of us experienced. We loved Cincinnati but we're excited to be at Rocky Top tomorrow!

- Danny from Cincinnati's Child

This building displayed a really cool 3-D image

One of many decorated pigs around downtown Cincinnati, "Where Pigs Fly."

This building was adjacent to the downtown park and had a constantly changing rainbow display at the top.

Day Two: Lighthouse Youth Services

This morning we visited a place called Lighthouse Youth Services. Two very dedicated women greeted us and led our group to their warehouse. There were furniture on one side and containers filled with just about everything from sponges to blankets sitting on shelves on the other. We took a seat and was introduced to everything Lighthouse had to offer to their community. The range of things they offer is surprising and inspiring. They work with youth on getting employment, housing, and even psychiatric help and ask for absolutely nothing in return. After their introduction, we went to work on getting 128 bags of essentials for them to give out to those in need. One of the women went on to tell us that they plan to make the goal of wiping out youth homelessness by 2020 a reality. With that kind of support and optimism in this community, it made me feel hopeful. I'm hopeful for those who have been helped by Lighthouse and those who will soon. Knowing there are people who want these individuals to go out a succeed regardless of prior struggles and doubts makes me happier than I can express in words. I left Lighthouse with a newfound appreciation of everything I have and a new motivation to join the cause to fight childhood poverty.

-Tavina from Cincinnati's Child

Making grab bags at Lighthouse for the young adult homeless community.

During our second day of service, we as a group decided to stop by one of Cincinnati's parks. While we were there we ended up bonding with each other as a group. The park visit was more like a visit for us to relax & to take a break but also to explore Cincinnati & to see the different landscapes & sceneries that it have to offer. At the park we took group photos & lots of selfies,  & played a few games. We also saw a building that resembled Ayers hall & got a chance to see a nice big view of Cincinnati. Overall the park visit was fun, enjoyable, relaxing, & also a great experience.

- Asya from Cincinnati's Child

Escapades at Eden Park.

Enjoying the beautiful 70 degree weather.

After lunch, we headed over to the USBank Boys and Girls Club of greater Cincinnati. It was immediately obvious that volunteering in this club would require much more energy, as it was around 18,000 sq ft compared to the Espy club rounding out at only 6,000 sq ft. Some challenges surrounding this included more kids (which means more screaming...) to try and connect with, and also adjusting to a different, less communal atmosphere. For example, in Espy, all of the children for the most part lived on the same street and attended the same school; here, many schools and neighborhoods were represented, and according to one little girl, there were new children coming and "old" children leaving each day, leaving little stability in the classrooms. We split up into groups of 4 or 5 to work with a different age group than we did the day before. It was "Fun Friday," so the day consisted of paper airplane competitions, dance parties, and a visit from a Harlem Globetrotter! Overall, it was an exhausting but very rewarding evening!

-Victoria from Cincinnati's Child

In front of one of the many colorful murals at the USB Club.

Sham-Wow

At 12:01 a.m. Samantha Scott and Shantazia Jones became Sham-Wow! The end.

- Katie Wright from Cincinnati's Child

Day One

First day of afb has been nothing short of amazing already ! Today we got on the road around 7, with a mix of excitement and anticipation for the great experiences we had ahead.  Upon getting there we checked into our beautiful apartments that was a mix of art deco and italian architecture. After dropping of supplies and luggage we hit the ground running , heading to lower price hill boys and girls club . When we got there we got a brief introduction then came in over 50 loud and energized students ready to have some fun with us. We did sports, helped with homework, and had dinner with them. We had a lot of fun and it was hard to leave . One girl Noel, was so sad to see us leave and gave us all a hug before we left. - Jalen B. from Cincinnati's Child

Arriving in Cincinnati! 

Home sweet home!

... And Jalen's wingspan is 70 inches.

AFB Cincinnati 2014: Who we Are, Where we are Going, and Why it Matters.

Introduction to AFB Cincinnati 2014: Poverty in the Eyes of the Youth

                Our trip aims to introduce students to the poverty and the social issues related to poverty through a unique perspective. Growing up in poverty as a child has tremendous implications on that child’s education, physical and mental health, and most importantly the success of their future.  As the youth are our nation’s future, we believe it is important to address these inequalities that start early and the social issues that prevent the youth from accomplishing their dreams and goals in life.  We chose to travel to Cincinnati for this theme because this city faces an extremely high child poverty rate, in which 53% of the youth in the area are living below the poverty rate. We will be working with organizations dedicated to addressing child poverty and improving the lives of disadvantaged children and families. Some of these organizations include The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati, Lighthouse Youth services, and Holly-Hill Children’s Services of Covington, KY. Our ultimate goal for this trip is to not only educate our team about child poverty, but also to show the impact of volunteering in a community and the role that we can play as students in our university, as members of our community, and even  citizens of our country.

About The Trip Leaders:

Shantazia Jones:

Hey hey everybody! I’m Shantazia Jones- a junior from Memphis, TN majoring in Psychology and minoring in English with a pre-law focus. I am currently serving as a peer career adviser in Career Services, where I assist my peers in their professional and career development. My aspirations are to become a family law attorney where I can advocate for children and help families during some of their hardest times and eventually begin my own nonprofit organization to cater to the needs of teens and young women of all backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses that need support and love. I haven’t been on any Alternative Break Trips, but I am super excited to experience one for the first time with my amazing team in Cincinnati, Ohio serving the needs of the community’s children in poverty. I hope my team will grow to love one another and develop lasting relationships as we all venture out together learning about and helping cater to the needs of our future generation! 

Samantha Scott:

Hello! My name is Samantha and I am a senior from Chicago, IL majoring in psychology with a pre-medicine concentration. In my future, I hope to become a physician of Osteopathic Medicine to become a family physician and ultimately open a community health center that offers health education, community awareness events, counseling, and low-cost medical services to underserved communities. I have been on two previous Alternative Fall Break trips: to Louisville in 2012 and Indianapolis in 2013 and both of these had tremendous impacts on my college experience and my future career goals. As a trip leader this year I can only hope that every member of our team will walk away having learned something new about our social issue or even themselves, and for our team to have a super FUN and enjoyable experience!!