Thank You Nike!!
ASB alum Dan Seco shares his experience with United Way of America staff
For those of us who participated in United Way's Alternative Spring Break, we know how powerful our experiences were, not only for ourselves but for the community of Southwest Louisiana. 1,300 miles away however, at United Way of America in Alexandria, Virginia, there was a building full of people who did not get to share those same experiences or see first-hand what a tremendous impact we made in Southwest Louisiana. In an effort to bridge that gap, we invited Dan Seco, a week 3 ASB participant, to come to our headquarters in Alexandria to share his experience with our staff.
Dan, a junior at the University of Maryland-College Park, is also a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Unlike his brothers, Dan passed on the opportunity to spend his spring break in Cancun. "I was invited to go to Cancun for spring break and all my friends were disappointed that I was not going with them..........but after they heard about my trip and all that we accomplished, they definitely respected me for it."
ASB was not Dan's first time in the Gulf Coast region. Dan had recently taken a trip by himself to New Orleans to see some of the hurricane damage first hand. "I had some extra frequent flyer miles to use and I wanted to see what it was really like after the hurricanes........having the opportunity to see first hand what the storms had done was my favorite part of the trip."
Dan's message to the United Way of America staff was loud and clear. Alternative Spring Break was a moving and motivating experience for him. "This was definitely one of the best weeks of my life." And Dan's story is not unique. He echoed the energy and enthusiasm that all of his peers felt after ASB. As a result of his experience, Dan is pursuing an internship with United Way as a Summer Associate. Dan obviously knows what it takes to impact communities and it showed through his hard work and dedication as a participant of United Way's Alternative Spring Break 2007!
Dan, a junior at the University of Maryland-College Park, is also a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Unlike his brothers, Dan passed on the opportunity to spend his spring break in Cancun. "I was invited to go to Cancun for spring break and all my friends were disappointed that I was not going with them..........but after they heard about my trip and all that we accomplished, they definitely respected me for it."
ASB was not Dan's first time in the Gulf Coast region. Dan had recently taken a trip by himself to New Orleans to see some of the hurricane damage first hand. "I had some extra frequent flyer miles to use and I wanted to see what it was really like after the hurricanes........having the opportunity to see first hand what the storms had done was my favorite part of the trip."
Dan's message to the United Way of America staff was loud and clear. Alternative Spring Break was a moving and motivating experience for him. "This was definitely one of the best weeks of my life." And Dan's story is not unique. He echoed the energy and enthusiasm that all of his peers felt after ASB. As a result of his experience, Dan is pursuing an internship with United Way as a Summer Associate. Dan obviously knows what it takes to impact communities and it showed through his hard work and dedication as a participant of United Way's Alternative Spring Break 2007!
Bittersweet Irony
It is 5 a.m. in Lake Charles and I am having a hard time sleeping. This is horribly ironic considering all that I have wanted for the past 5 weeks is a solid nights sleep and now that ASB has drawn to a close I can't seem to bring myself to crash.
The past month has quite possibly been the best month of my life. I know that seems like a rather lofty statement considering I am 25 and have 302 other months I could compare this one with. But when you think about all that has been accomplished in the past 30 days, it is impossible to equate that with anything else I have ever been a part of. Nearly a half a million dollars credited toward Louisiana's debt to FEMA. 12,000 + hours of volunteer service. Over 300 volunteers. One state impacted by the work of some incredible and dynamic young people willing to spend their spring break with United Way. Although we can count how many houses we repaired, how many pounds of debris we removed and how many hours we volunteered, there are some things that we just cannot quantify. How much easier will Ms. Roxy sleep knowing her house is more of a home because of our work? How much more will the young people who go to Camp Wi-Ta-Wentin enjoy themselves because it is cleaner and more safe due to the hard work of our volunteers? How many people in Southwest Louisiana directly or indirectly experienced the work of United Way and our volunteers? We may never have quantifiable answers to those questions. There are some things, however, that give us brief glimpses at the true impact of our work: The heartfelt smile that spread across Ms. Roxy's face when we pulled up in our van to visit her yesterday afternoon, seeing young people laugh as they carried canoes to the water at Camp Wi-Ta-Wentin, and the overwhelming amount of "thank you's" we get anytime someone knows or finds out who we are and why we are here in Lake Charles. Our work, in no way, went unnoticed.
Nails have been hammered, holes have been dug, friends have been made and communities and lives have been improved. That is what United Way's ASB is all about.
So when I do finally fall asleep, I will rest easy knowing that I was able to be a part of this incredible experience. Thank you to all of you that made this program the success that it has been and will hopefully continue to be.
The past month has quite possibly been the best month of my life. I know that seems like a rather lofty statement considering I am 25 and have 302 other months I could compare this one with. But when you think about all that has been accomplished in the past 30 days, it is impossible to equate that with anything else I have ever been a part of. Nearly a half a million dollars credited toward Louisiana's debt to FEMA. 12,000 + hours of volunteer service. Over 300 volunteers. One state impacted by the work of some incredible and dynamic young people willing to spend their spring break with United Way. Although we can count how many houses we repaired, how many pounds of debris we removed and how many hours we volunteered, there are some things that we just cannot quantify. How much easier will Ms. Roxy sleep knowing her house is more of a home because of our work? How much more will the young people who go to Camp Wi-Ta-Wentin enjoy themselves because it is cleaner and more safe due to the hard work of our volunteers? How many people in Southwest Louisiana directly or indirectly experienced the work of United Way and our volunteers? We may never have quantifiable answers to those questions. There are some things, however, that give us brief glimpses at the true impact of our work: The heartfelt smile that spread across Ms. Roxy's face when we pulled up in our van to visit her yesterday afternoon, seeing young people laugh as they carried canoes to the water at Camp Wi-Ta-Wentin, and the overwhelming amount of "thank you's" we get anytime someone knows or finds out who we are and why we are here in Lake Charles. Our work, in no way, went unnoticed.
Nails have been hammered, holes have been dug, friends have been made and communities and lives have been improved. That is what United Way's ASB is all about.
So when I do finally fall asleep, I will rest easy knowing that I was able to be a part of this incredible experience. Thank you to all of you that made this program the success that it has been and will hopefully continue to be.
