Trail Blazers

   This President's Weekend we have the pleasure of hosting 6 students from Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland and 11 students from Lasell University in Newton, Massachusetts.

    Towson arrived Friday morning; dropped their bags, packed a lunch, and got right to work on a precision gut for a home in Atlantic City.  They continued their work this weekend doing beach clean up followed by sorting and distributing at a distribution center run by Blankets for Brigantine and Beyond in Brigantine, NJ, and lastly moved furniture out of a home to get it ready for some gutting tomorrow.

    This group of 6 was so efficient that they finished their work day early.  But does that mean they stopped working? NO WAY! They headed back to the beach with the extra trash bags they had from the morning and continued to clean up trash and debris before dinner.

Sorting the canned goods donated to the Blankets for Brigantine and Beyond Distribution Center.  They also have furniture, cleaning supplies, toys, clothes, and cupcakes from the young ladies of Operation Cupcake!

Our group from Lasell headed north this morning to work with Americorp in Seaside Heights, removing sand from a community building on the Jersey Shore.  The Seaside Heights community has been shut down, limiting homeowners to re-enter their homes between the hours of 9:00 to 4:00 pm.  Seaside Heights is one of five towns still in a State of Emergency.

Prior to today, Seaside Heights has limited the organizations that could enter to do work in the community for safety reasons and other concerns.  Lasell volunteers got to meet the mayor of Seaside Heights and we are hoping that the work that they put in today can show the Seaside community how beneficial volunteers can be and how much work they can get done!

 

Every volunteer, contractor, organization, laborer, and homeowner is essential to re-piecing the communities they serve.  Each day of service gets us another step closer to getting people back into their homes and closer to being the community they were before.

Thank you Elon!

Thank you Elon!

This past week we have made advances in working with a variety of non-profits in Atlantic County and surrounding areas.  Our 19 volunteers this past week from Elon University made a lasting impression to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, as well as a locally run thrift store associated with Family Services Association which gives vouchers to its clients in need, and the Boys and Girls of Atlantic City.
Elon students also completed more work orders gutting homes with Americorp as well as sorting goods donated to the United Way Warehouse, and lastly doing debris clean up at a local beach when they had some spare time in the early morning.

Community Collaborations is looking forward to continuing these relationships with those who continue to serve their community members. 

We are also looking forward to working with the many students we have coming during President's weekend and throughout the entire month of March!

Below are some pictures from our days with Elon at the United Way Warehouse, the beach, and the Boys and Girls Club of Atlantic City!