Friends and Family,
"Consciously
or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other.
If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our
desire for service will steadily grow stronger and will make, not
only our own happiness, but that of the world at large."
Mahatma
Gandhi
The
night I opened my acceptance email,
a
friend told me I was going to change the world.
Good.
That
had been my goal.
I
wanted to be part of a community helping communities and I had been
selected to serve communities up and down the magical West Coast as
an AmeriCorps member. For 10 months, I was part of a team, Green 7,
and we were just one of 20-something National Civilian Community
Corps (NCCC) teams based in Sacramento, California for the year.
AmeriCorps
NCCC is a team-based service program for 18 to 24-year-olds to build
leadership skills through hands-on experiences with non-profit
organizations across the nation.
Every
day was a new experience.
I
lived in a tent for six weeks in the desert. I mentored 1,800 fifth
and sixth graders with my team. I gained confidence by leading
volunteers. I helped restore a historic building, create a community
garden, clear trails, prevent soil erosion and run a wood chipper! I
learned how to become a team motivator by sharing personal
experiences and emotions and, as a team, we learned how to maintain
team dynamics, work hard, reflect, grow, set and achieve our goals.
While
in Portland, Oregon, my team had the opportunity of serving with
Habitat for Humanity for eight weeks. We finished homes and prepared
for new construction. We learned that Habitat
aims
to eliminate
substandard and poverty housing. We
also learned that Habitat
does not give
homes away. Habitat
forms
partnerships with diverse, hardworking families who buy
their houses. Habitat provides safe communities and stable homes
worldwide and, with no experience necessary, Habitat for Humanity
runs on volunteers.
I
am now a second year AmeriCorps member, serving as a Construction
Crew Leader with Habitat for Humanity Portland / Metro East. I am
assigned to the largest Habitat site in Oregon, with the expected
completion of 45 homes in the Summer of 2014. I lead volunteers daily
and coordinate construction tasks on the worksite. Also volunteering
on the Homeowner Selection Committee, I assisted in the selection
process of our 23 new partnering families.
Building
homes in over 100 countries, 90% of Habitat's homes are international
and Global Village Trips are another great way to get involved.
Habitat's Global Village program provides team-based opportunities
for people of different cultures to live and work together in the
spirit of partnership, travel and community service.
This
Thanksgiving, I am traveling to South America for 10 days to serve in
Argentina. Nearly 35% of Argentina's population lives below the
poverty line, leaving almost three million children in poverty
housing. In 2001, Argentina suffered an economic collapse that left
50% of the population under the poverty line. In 2003, floods
worsened poverty conditions, initiating “Rebuilding Santa Fe One
House at a Time.”
Habitat
para la Humanidad Argentina (HPHA)
builds in Buenos Aries, Lujan, Santa Fe and Canada de Gomez. The
affiliate stresses the importance of the education and empowerment
that helps partnering families work toward solving their own housing
problems. Community members come together with families and
volunteers, using their skills to achieve the self-construction
process. In
the past, Global Village teams have helped HPHA families restore
their roofs, rehab homes and aid in progressive improvements in which
housing is seen as a process and not a product. Through
motivation and full participation, dignity among individuals in the
community is restored.
I
plan to learn about Argentina's culture, language, history,
context-adapted solutions they use to build and the customs of the
community, but I need some help from you. My trip has a cost. Part
of your donation goes to Habitat for Humanity International and a
portion goes to Habitat para la Humanidad Argentina. The rest of the
donation funds food, housing, travel medical insurance coverage and
transportation for the week. Today, a third of Argentina’s
population still resides in inadequate housing. Join me in serving
these communities. It doesn't take much and donations add up fast, so
please, donate what you can.
I
will continue to travel, grow and do my part to help change the
world. AmeriCorps hasn't changed my life; my service experiences have
provided me the tools to shape my life. These experiences make me
happy. I just hope that, by paying it forward, the good will someday
outweigh the evil. Keeping close to my heart all the offerings of
goodness I've received from folks along my way, I hope you join
us in serving our world.
With
love and thanks,
Colin
Or contact me at Cprogen@gmail.com for mailing address to send personal check.
*I
also want to give an extra special thank
you
to my friends and family who in 2009 donated to the Centro Victoria
build in Mexico that I participated in. I raised a generous $700.00
for the boy's dorm project and the kids couldn't have been happier to
see us! We finished the structure of the dorm while we were in Juarez
and the roof was completed after we left. The orphanage continues to
flourish with children and I hope to return someday to see the
familiar faces and serve their community.*
