Spring 2019: Post #1

Dear friends, family, and supporters,

Welcome to the Our West Bayfront Spring Break 2019 Blog! Thank you for following and supporting us. We are preparing ourselves for an 8 day service trip in Erie, Pa (Home to Gannon University). The student leaders are Maddie Rowley and Katie Gress.

We Leave in ... https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20190303T12&p0=814&msg=OWB+SPRING+BREAK&font=cursive

I am a junior PA Major from Cleveland, Ohio. My freshman year I had the opportunity to go to Guatemala on an ABST during my spring break. I made many new friends and connections who I still am in touch with today and learned so much about myself and others. My ABST experience impacted me greatly and is definitely one of the highlights of my Gannon career. I am very excited to embark on this 8 day adventure, meet new people, and help the OWB neighborhood while learning more about the place I have called home for the last 3 years.

-Maddie Rowley

Hello all! I am a sophomore Occupational Therapy major from Pittsburgh, PA! My freshman year I went on an ABST to Washington D.C and it forever changed my life. I had such an incredible experience and felt led to lead an ABST to try to help others have an equally as amazing service adventure. My first ABST was something I will cherish for the rest of my life and I am so excited to make more memories on this trip. Erie is such an awesome place and I cannot wait to use this trip to experience the city that I call home for so many months of the year in a new and enlightening way.

-Katie Gress

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Day 2 Monday, March 4th 2019

DAY 2! After a restful night of sleep, all 8 of us arose bright and early Monday morning to start our first day of work! We did some deconstruction work on a project for the Our West Bayfront Organization. It was cold and hard, but we had a lot of fun and certainly made the best of it! Following our morning/afternoon of hard labor, we came home to start preparing for our dinner with the mayor. We were honored that he agreed to come have a meal with us and were so excited to host him. Caroline set up different "cooking stations for us each to work at so we all had our own duties and responsibilities! We had a blast spending time together and making an excellent meal. It was really awesome to learn so much from each other about the ways we cook and the different strategies we each had for recipes and cooking! Before the mayor arrived, Maddie and Katie posted large signs around the room that said "What we want to see change in Erie", "What we love about E...

Day 4: ASH WEDNESDAY

The day started early for about half the group. A group of intrepid students braved the early morning bitter chill for a brisk walk to St. Peter's Cathedral for morning mass. After a scintillating wake-up service, they trudged wearily back for an eclectic breakfast to start the day. The morning's project consisted of the organization of the Little Free Library's book stock. This project lasted several hours in the morning and stimulated the students interest in books by an overexposure to large quantities. After shifting the vast piles of various books, the students felt sufficiently hungry enough to go back to the St. Joseph house and dive into an lunch of assorted and widely varied foods. Following this invigorating episode, the group as a whole felt it necessary to take a little repose. Sadly, at this time Caroline felt in necessary to retire to her home due to some personal health issues. After drying their tears, the re...

Day 6 Part 1: Ember and Forge

After a transformative week of service, fostering community relationships and reconnecting with our neighbors, the group wanted to finish off our last full day together by learning more about the businesses that have sprouted in downtown Erie. And what better way to do this other than over some great coffee? The group headed to Ember and Forge located at 401 State Street at 8am to sip on a wide variety of coffee options, to engage in conversation with each other and members of the community and to meet with the brave and wondrous women who started this business, Hannah Kirby. Hannah received her Mechanical Engineering degree from Gannon University and later got her MBA. Upon graduating school, she took on a job at a manufacturing company in Erie, PA for 10 years. However, she knew that there was something missing in her life and she wanted to find something else to to do, to give back to her community in a different way, and have the opportunity to be part of transforming Eri...

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