Morgan - CASA- Blog 1

I can't believe how much our small group of seven got done our first full day in Huntsville. I REALLY can’t believe how supported and welcomed our group has felt in even the first few hours here! Our first task this morning was to report to the CASA warehouse where we were to help build wheelchair ramps for some of CASA’s home-bound clients. I was very proud of our entire group for maintaining an enthusiasm for the manual labor the building required. I know for me, the best part was using a massive table saw to cut up deck wood for the surface of the ramps. It was very empowering. The service director of CASA and our building “instructor”, if you will, were obviously enthusiastic about the work they contribute to CASA even at 8:00 AM.

During lunch we got a chance to visit with some other staff members from CASA and their experience in Huntsville and the non-profit sector. One of the volunteers was had spent a substantial amount of his life in Kansas and welcomed us to eat dinner at his house one of the evenings this week. I didn't really believe in the idea of “southern hospitality” until this trip.

After lunch we worked for an organization called Manna House, which was an organization that provided a pantry style facility for those in need. When we first arrived we were assigned to bag deserts. When we got to the massive table of deserts, I realized they were all nearly expired products (pastries, cookies, cakes, etc.) that you could find in the bakery at Dillion’s. After walking around to the rest of the stations, I realized most all of the produce and boxed and canned food items were damaged in some way. I had never really considered where the food in these types of pantries came from. We spoke with a volunteer who told us the woman who ran Manna House, Fran, had started the organization from her own home and it had grown so large that she needed to rent a warehouse to manage all the donations. It’s meeting individuals like Fran and the CASA staff and volunteers, who have the vision and drive to reach out and accomplish something truly incredible, that are making this trip a once in a lifetime experience.