Phoenix Group

Setting records - that became a frequent comment from the St. Mary's Food Bank staff and the Habitat for Humanity staff. The midwest work ethic shined through as we were welcomed back each day.

The week is over and as I sit here trying to recapture memories, I find myself thinking over and over about serving and having an impact on others lives. The Phoenix group touched thousands of lives. At the food bank we boxed up in one day alone - 23,500 pounds. We were told one pound feeds one family of four one meal. In one day we helped to provide 23,500 meals to a family of four. Then we proceeded to break our record each day we went back! At the Food Bank we worked with minimum security sheriff's inmates, people on probation doing community service work as well as other volunteers from church and civic service groups. We became a crew together working toward one goal of feeding needy families. At Habitat for Humanity we built walls that will be used in a building blitz in May. Three hundred volunteers will come together at that time to build nine homes in 4 1/2 days. The walls we built will be brought to the site to complete this monumental task and will provide homes for nine families. We also went on site and painted a 2-story Habitat home.

I am proud to have been a part of it. I admire and respect the 34 Phoenix trip participants I had the privilege to work with this week. We lived, we learned and we served.

Kristi Osheim