Project: We came, we volunteered, we loved it!

Soooo in case you weren't there this weekend (in which case you missed out), Project was a total success! I am grateful for the experience of being a Team Lead because I got to see all of the work that gets put into Project to make it happen. The day was long but worth it to help out a community who was welcoming. I had a little bit of a hectic Project days, but it was worth it! 
Also I should mention that my sister, who is in the 2nd grade, sent me her Flat Stanley to take on adventures throughout Austin and I took Flat Stanley to Project, so he is in a few of the pictures from the day!

Friday
Because I knew I had to be up before 5 to be at the SSB, I figured I would go to bed early so that I would be able to be as helpful as possible the next morning. But I still went to a baseball game with some friends, which was easy going and the Longhorns won! 

Watching some Longhorn Baseball!

Saturday

When we first all arrived at the SSB!

5:00 AM - I had woken up, gotten dressed and was ready to head to the SSB. When I arrived it was a great to see so many of the other Team Leads, Committee Members and Exec there ready to start the day! We all began to talk about what still needed to be done, and had some breakfast to get us going for the day. We continued to get things in order until it was time to get the volunteers on the bus. 

Had a burnt orange donut for breakfast #hookem

7:30 AM - The volunteers began to arrive and my job as a Team Lead was to make sure the volunteers were on the bus and be sure that the bus actually got to Dove Springs. This was a slightly crazy, hectic job in that there were a lot of volunteers to manage and be sure that they got on and were not left. At my Team Lead trainings they reminded me that I would be one of the first few faces that the volunteers saw so I did my best to remain positive through out the day. On my bus we had a great time, singing to the music on the radio and getting excited about helping out in the community! 

Some really excited volunteers with Flat Stanley!

9:00 - 11:30 AM - So during this time things got really crazy on the buses and we were doing our best to make sure the volunteers were going to the right buses that would take them to the right sites to volunteer. I honestly felt like I lost my brain for a second during this time because the buses were pretty chaotic. But as soon as the chaos happened it seemed to slow down and things were smoothly running again. We began to drop off students at their sites where they would help, and began to head back to the SSB to pick up the 2nd group of volunteers. 

12:00-2:30 PM - This was lunch time for both shifts of volunteers and the food was phenomenal! Longhorn Steakhouse provided food for everyone that was present at Project 2013 which was a ton of people! Every volunteer I spoke to said the food was great. 

2:30-4:30 PM - So during this time the bus crew had no volunteers to bus around, so we were able to stay at the Rec Center and help and see what was being done around this area. The crews around the Rec Center were painting the swimming pool pavilion. I asked them for a quick favor, if they would take a picture with Flat Stanley and they said yes! Shortly after taking this picture, the Bat Mobile showed up! Flat Stanley got a picture with the Bat Mobile too. 

Some awesome volunteers!

Bat Mobile! Woooo!

4:30-7:00 PM - This was the time period in which everything really began to slow down, and as all of the volunteers returned to campus we headed toward Mendez Middle School to finish packing up the tools and reflect on the day. By this time I felt really tired but relieved that the day was almost done and we had done so much for this awesome community. Any community members I saw were welcoming and kind, saying many thanks for us being there. 

Assembly Line at its Finest!

Overall feelings of the day: Although I did not actually get to paint, or clean an area I enjoyed helping on the buses, and getting to see the volunteers before and after they arrived at a site. Seeing this many Longhorns come together, showed me the passion that many people at our university have for helping others. I hope that I have the opportunity to help with Project 2014!