November 20, 2018 / cmallon / Comment off

Quest Fall 2018 Newsletter

Quest Hurricane Recovery Service Trips

The impact of Quest spring service experiences Hurricane season is in full force again, and Quest students and teachers are anxiously watching reports of developing storms. These may determine where their upcoming service trips will take them to volunteer. Last spring,  our six BPS service teams provided critical relief to vulnerable communities devastated by hurricanes in Puerto Rico, Houston, Costa Rica and New Orleans. We are so proud that our students were able to make a significant difference in relief efforts last year.  Once again, Quest is looking forward to sponsoring new trips to locations where they are needed most in 2019!
Team Puerto Rico
Boston Green Academy
“There is a lot more that needs to be done  in Puerto Rico than I thought. I thought people just needed water and light, but they need way more. They need love, support, and healing” – Louis Sanchez
Boston Green Academy’s service learning project and trip to Puerto Rico provided a  unique opportunity to explore the struggles of Puerto Ricans in the midst of a challenging political and economic climate, compounded by the  devastating effects of Hurricane Maria. They partnered with students and teachers from a non traditional school, Nuestra Escuela, and traveled to the school’s retreat center, Casa Collores, located in the mountainous region of Orocovis. Together, the two groups spent grueling, hot days clearing out piles of huge ceiba tree limbs, fallen trees and debris that had fallen during the hurricane, finally resulting in full access to the center and surrounding areas. The students bonded closely with one another by working side by side during the day and participating in multiple evening workshops, centered on sharing personal stories of challenges they had faced as well as engaging in the healing process.  
  Team New Orleans
Another Course to College  (ACC)
“Our trip to New Orleans helped me overcome a lot of fears and anxiety, like opening up to new people.  This experience greatly increased my communication skills which will help me reach out to others when I get to college.”  – Dacia Gallow
ACC’s Team New Orleans partnered with the organization, Youth Rebuilding New Orleans, for a week in January. This group worked in the community building much needed affordable housing to attract public school teachers to the areas most affected by Hurricane Katrina. In addition, they cleaned up blighted properties. One of their favorite projects was working with a family owned contracting company. The students helped them organize and purge their stockpiles of old furniture and materials, such as weather worn furniture, cabinets and doors as they filled several dumpsters.
During this experience the students and teachers build unbreakable bonds, learning to trust and support each other.  As teacher, Candra Dixon, shared, “We learned to work as a team, together in strength and not divided in weakness.”
Team Houston
Fenway High School
” I learned that I’m stronger and more positive than I thought because I never gave up even though I didn’t know how to do construction work at first. We all stuck together and got the work done. This experience showed me that life is going to give you a lot of challenges and that as strong women, we should demonstrate that we can do it.”  – Anayaris Guerrero
Team Houston consisted of an all female team, strong, determined, and motivated! The team partnered with three organizations, St. Bernard’s Project (SBP), Houston Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and the Houston Food Bank.  Rotating through the three service locations, they met, worked, and collaborated with supportive site supervisors, friendly local residents, and warm, open home owners.  During their long hours with construction work on the Garcia Family’s home,  the group focused on sanding, mudding, and painting the walls and ceilings, cleaning and replacing some flooring, and cleaning and revamping the landscape around the houses.

As Anne Jean shared, “I used to give up when I couldn’t get something right. I learned something very important from this trip… No matter how hard and how many times it takes to get something right, in the end you’re not perfect but you can work toward that goal.” Stephanie Gonzalez added, ” This trip made me want to continue doing community service in college.  Nothing comes easy in life without being positive, patient, and working hard.”
Team Puerto Rico                          Boston Arts Academy
“It was at that moment, watching that child, so excited to run across our newly built floor for the first time, that I realized I wanted to do more work like this. I want to meet more people around the world that have the same goal as me, which is making the world a better place.”  -Thalita Correia

Boston Arts Academy’s Team Puerto Rico, deeply concerned for family members on the island as well disheartened by the lack of urgency, empathy, and human concern by our government following Hurricane Maria, made an early commitment to help with hurricane recovery, especially in the more remote areas of Puerto Rico. They partnered with a music school, La Escuela Libre de Musica, which was similar to their own, and discovered a valuable connection in Luis Fuster, the teacher and also the director of a relief and recovery organization, called Mano A Mano.  The students and teacher leaders from both schools traveled together to the mountainous town of Maricao and restored two houses that were still devastated after so many months. In the process, they built strong bonds and lasting friendships while working, cooking, eating, and jamming together.

As Deyna Francisco stated, ” I saw the passion that Puerto Ricans have for their country and each other. This helped me connect with my own identity and roots from an island. This trip has inspired me in so many ways and has given me the opportunity to meet amazing people who have turned into family.”
Team Costa Rica
Joseph Lee K-8
“One day we took a break from service work and went kayaking.  I was paired with one of my teachers who had never kayaked in her life.  It was up to me to teach her the basics about paddling.  We learned to work together and that’s when we started a close relationship.”   -Jane Kungie

The Joseph K-8 students traveled to Costa Rica  where they focused on three aspects of community service: agriculture, animals, and education. They weeded and planted the perimeter of an elementary school that had been damaged by Hurricane Nate. In addition, they spent a day at a bird sanctuary, raking and cleaning out all the debris left by the storm. Finally, they spent time at both an elementary and high school. They planned and executed English lessons to 8 and 9 year olds and volunteered to help with the high school recycling program.

This middle school team had to face many new challenges, including flying for the first time and volunteering with another school group during long hours of community service. As Jane Kungie shared, “We had to learn how to work together, make decisions on how to divide the work, and help keep each other going. We did it!”

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                 Team Houston
Mary Lyon High School
“I got to meet energetic Americorps volunteers who are truly passionate about helping people.  They inspired me to consider joining Americorps for a gap year experience before college.”  -Adam Cusolito

Mary Lyon”s team volunteered in Houston at the end of June.  They worked with Americorps members from St. Bernard’s Project and with Chuck and Dan from International Orthodox Christian Charities. Together they all renovated two houses that were damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Among the projects, Team Houston scraped, retextured and painted all the walls and ceilings and replaced the flooring inside the houses. They also  demolished and helped rebuild outdoor steps to one of the houses.

As teacher Katie Westfield shared, “This trip afforded the opportunity to see growth in all our students. One outstanding example is Adam, who developed into a real leader, with a new confidence and identity. Not only did he become our leading fundraiser, but also became an effective public speaker, giving a compelling fundraising speech in front of 200 teachers. During the trip, he jumped into whatever task he was given and made sure that his teammates stayed energized, organized and productive. ” This kind of transformation keeps Quest teachers motivated and engaged year after year!