We left the campus at 8am sharp in our AU shuttle bus and made great time to Cleveland. We encountered some snow and a couple of huffy drivers, but we kept up good spirits. Entertainment included ever switching radio stations and a group chat with the other AU trip members. Around 5pm, we arrived at Cleveland Hostel! Immediately, we set our bags in our rooms and set out exploring. It's a very nice hostel and we are thankful to be able to stay here.
Another group from a different school was already settled in. We ate dinner with them, met our contact Nick, and got to know each other a little better.
The places we will be volunteering with are the 2100 Lakeside Men's Shelter, Boys & Girls Club, Kids Book Bank, Providence House, Migration & Refugee Services, and Greater Cleveland Food Bank. We will also have the opportunity to have dinner with local young professionals, visit other places in Cleveland such as the art museum, and job shadow with two organizations.
In reflection of our time ahead of us, we are feeling... excited, anxious, but ready.
We're looking forward to working with these organizations! Hailey, Liz, and Naima are particularly looking forward to working with the Migration & Refugee Services. Naima is an immigrant from Pakistan, and Deon also works part time teaching English, so she is excited to volunteer at the refugee class as well. Laura is looking forward to working with Providence House and Chris enjoys networking and meeting the new people we will be serving and working with. You never know who you will meet, and we are so excited for what this week has in store for us!
-Laura, Liz, Hailey, Mario, Frankie, Victoria, Naima, Chris, Deon