Ole Spring Relief 6

Go bus 2! (Our group at a service site in Kansas City, Missouri.)

Last week I got on a bus with 35 other Oles and embarked on a 9 day journey to and from Nashville, Tennessee.  Prior to Ole Spring Relief, I had never been on a service trip.  We stopped in Kansas City (Missouri and Kansas), St. Louis, Nashville, Springfield (Illinois) and Ames (Iowa).  We racked up around 24 total service hours doing yardwork (clearing the sites where homes once stood, composting, and planting trees), clearing out/organizing an abandoned school, and working with members of each community we stopped in.

With Tocqueville's Democracy in America and Putnam's "Bowling Alone", I couldn't help but think of the service trip in terms of social capital.  Although I'd read about the surprising amount of voluntary associations geared towards service in urban areas, I was still surprised by the structure of the community and its dedicated inhabitants.  For example, the city of St. Louis is in the midst of a 10 year plan to end homelessness and we worked with a shelter called Gateway 180 that is striving to do just that.  

Before Ole Spring Relief, I felt cynical about the state of social capital and the power of voluntary associations in the United States.  I now have a renewed hope and respect for groups that are working hard to better our society.  While I'm not 100% sure of what I want to do with my life, I know for certain that I want to continue to serve by the sides of people I met, and work to support and grow our vital voluntary associations.