Gannon ABST Washington, DC

We have arrived back in Erie! After a week full of encountering new people and reflecting on our experiences at the Father McKenna Center, we have all returned safely to our home base. Thank you for following along with this blog of our trip. The implementation of our knowledge into our daily lives will not be an easy task, but we are well prepared to take it on. We all have learned so much through our experiences this week and are excited to share and show others what respect for human dignity truly means. Homelessness is an extremely complex problem in our country, and we have all struggled to grasp what the best response on our part should be. At the end of this trip, I have come to affirm that complex problems do not have easy solutions, and that solving huge problems like hunger and homelessness involve more than one person or one ABST group. However, the power of one is still strong and present everywhere- we experienced that through meeting amazing and inspiring individuals th...

Father McKenna Center and Monument Tours Today we closed up our time at the Father McKenna center. At the end of our time there we got to eat ice cream sandwiches with the staff, courtesy of our good friend and janitor at the center, Jhonny. We reflected on the week and what we had learned about homelessness and about ourselves. After we returned to Holy Redeemer we got time to relax before mass with Father Bava. Once mass finished we went towards the national mall again and got to visit several memorials and monuments including the WW2 memorial, the FDR memorial, the Korean memorial, and the MLK memorial. At the end of the day we came back to reflect on the day and prepare for the trip home. -Liz and Ryan

Day at Capitol Hill! Hey Guys! Today we got the honor and the privilege to go to Capitol Hill to meet with Representative Mike Kelly. He is the representative in Erie where Gannon is. We were able to tell him our experiences so far this week and the stories we have heard. We advocated for policies to help the homeless both here in DC and back home in Erie. He was able to tell us his feelings towards homelessness and poverty and his possible solutions to the issue. We would like to thank Rep. Kelly and his office for giving us the opportunity to talk to us during his busy schedule. We then got an amazing tour of the Capitol building. After that, we all walked to get lunch at District Taco and reflect on our time in the Capitol building. Then we walked to The White House to take a picture with the Gannon flag. After the picture, we all split up and went to different Museums. Being able to enjoy the amazing weather in the nation’s Capitol was a great way to relax during this busy...

Father McKenna Center and Holy Redeemer Peace Meal Today we all went to the Father McKenna Center. We had the honor of taking a tour of the church above the father McKenna Center. We all had different tasks at the center including working in the kitchen, serving breakfast and lunch, and working in the pantry.  I had the opportunity to work in the kitchen today with Ellen, Ryan, Hayley, and Father Shawn.  We helped to prepare today’s lunch: cheeseburger Wednesday. We also made ratatouille that will be served tomorrow.  After the Father McKenna Center we headed back to the Holy Redeemer Church to do a reflection letter for our future selves. After the reflection Hayley, Ryan, Josh, Elena, Mughiara, Liz, and myself all took a walk to Capital Hill. Once returned from our fun walk we all helped with the Holy Redeemer’s peace meal. We all got to interact with many of the other neighbor volunteers and all the individuals who attended the dinner. Today was a very fun ...

Father McKenna Center and National Coalition for the Homeless Hi guys!  Each of us had a different task today at Father McKenna Center. Some of us were in charge of the food pantry, serving breakfast and lunch , cleaning, and organizing other material. Today I talked to couple of homeless guys and it was a good experience. I learned sometimes we are too fast at judging but we should not really judge people because we don’t know what’s going on in their life’s and what battle they are fighting with themselves. I personally believe we all need to work on not judging other by how they look and how they dress more like who they are. Today, I served breakfast and lunch and got a chance to interact with homeless individuals which was so cool. Later at the end of the day we took the metro to meet with some other people who were once homeless, and figured out that there are many solutions to this problem. We walked around and got cupcakes and went to union station. At last we had d...

Father McKenna Center Hi everyone!  Today was a really great start to the week, which hopefully sets the tone for how the rest of the week will go. We were welcomed in with open arms at the Father McKenna Center bright and early. Each and every one of us did a variety of tasks within the center to prepare for the two meals they serve. Some of us were in charge of the food pantry, where locals could come in and obtain produce, canned foods and other special food products. While others cleaned the bathrooms and showers, or helped the cook in the kitchen prepare the meals. Each task enlightened us with gratitude and fulfillment of the service we were doing. Some of us had the opportunity to engage in conversations with the men and listen to the stories of some of the workers at the center as well. As the week goes on, we hope for more fruitful conversations with the staff and men of the center and to find ways to combat homelessness in our to...

Arrival in D.C. Today, we left Gannon at 12:00pm to head for D.C! After a long ride, we arrived safely at Holy Redeemer around 7:30pm and got settled in. Tomorrow we will be working at the Father Mckenna Center serving food to the homeless shelter. -Ellen

Hello! We are counting down the days to our departure less then a month away now! Things are starting to come together and the excitement is really kicking in. This past weekend a few of us took part in Gannon's annual "Day of Caring" in the Erie community, and we worked in partnership with Our West Bayfront to clean up the grounds of the MLK Center and the area surrounding it. Some of us went up and down the sidewalks collecting trash, and others stayed on cite cleaning up the playground space and raking up the leaves and sticks from the winter season. We found some interesting pieces of garbage throughout the morning including diapers, plastic bags, wrappers, and many many cigarette buds. After our hands on service was complete, we were visited by the Erie News Now film crew and got to speak on behalf of what it meant to be a good neighbor in the Erie community and why we serve. Overall it was a great way to connect with each other and learn about what ways we...

Hello everyone! Welcome to our 2019 Washington D.C. ABST blog! Below we feature our twelve wonderful team members in hopes that people reading our blog can get to know everyone better. Our group is very special in that our entire group is composed of freshman other than our leaders and accompaniers.  Mughiara  Quadeer Hometown: Lahore, Pakiston Major: Biology Pre-Med Year: Freshman Favorite Quote: "There are no limits to what you can accomplish, except the limit you place on your own thinking." -Brian Tracy Elizabeth Ketner Hometown: Clarion, PA Major: Pre-Veterinary Year: Freshman Favorite Quote: "We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us." -Joseph Campbell Samantha Valaitis Hometown: Eastlake, OH Major: Biology Pre-Med Year: Freshman Quote: "Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it." -Denis P. Kimboro Joshua Staley Hometown: Carlisle, PA Major: ...

Hello family and friends of the D.C. ABST, Welcome to our blog! We are thrilled to be leading this trip and document everyone's experience through this blog. Our trip is going to be May 12-18th this summer and we have a semester full of preparation ahead of us. Please continue to check back and follow us these next few months as we explore the topic of hunger and homelessness and work towards gaining a deeper understanding of poverty in the United States. Today we had our spring ABST leadership training where we learned about comfort zones, the pillars of ABST, facilitation methods, and working as a co-leader team. Stay tuned for our next post to meet the rest of the team! Hayley & Sara Working on goals and outcomes for the trip!