By: Ansleigh Schwendinger
This spring break, I had no idea what I was about to commit to when I joined the Bear Breaks trip to Asheville, North Carolina. It turns out that this has been one of the best experiences that I have had the opportunity to participate in since coming to Missouri State. Our small group of 16 MO State students have all come together to accomplish some good during our time on this planet. In our short time together, we have become a family. I have learned so much from each and every member, while also learning more about myself through this process.
Throughout the week, we have immersed ourselves into the Asheville community, and we have been welcomed with open arms. Out of all the services we have done this week, my favorite day was Wednesday. On Wednesday, our group had the opportunity to partner with a local church called HaywoodStreet. I cannot say enough nice things about the experiences I had with the church that day. Haywood Street is a church that has a large array of services and resources for the Asheville community. Their focus is to help not only the people in tough situations, but also encourage all community involvement. Our group was lucky enough to get to help with a weekly Wednesday community meal. This meal is held within the church, and it welcomes anyone to come and eat. When you arrive, there is a hospitality room where people can sit, chat, drink coffee, and wait for meal time. There is also free haircuts! When it was meal time, there were tables set in a room like a real restaurant. The community members would sit down, get their drink orders taken and then the food would come out. This Wednesday, a local restaurant called Posana provided a meal for free and was even present to help out all day. As the volunteers, we were encouraged to talk to as many people as we could. Hannah, the companion coordinator at Haywood Street, explained to us that our service was extremely beneficial to their operation, but she would much rather see us interacting and learning from the participants from the Asheville community.
Throughout the day, I was able to talk to some amazing people, with stories so unique and inspiring. I could have talked to the participants for days and the best thing, is that they could havetalked to us for days as well. Just having someone to sit down and have a conversation with is something we don’t think about as a privilege. I was touched by the openness in that room and the many thank yous we received from the church members, fellow volunteers, but most importantly, the thank yous we received from the participants.
It will be difficult to return to Springfield with all of the things in my mind that I have learned from my trip to Asheville. Our community is in need for more involvement between all members, just like Asheville. With all these new experiences, and my new family, I have grown in my time away, and hope to invoke some change in Springfield in my remaining years.