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Reflections from the Urban Plunge

Students share a meal and stories from morning deliveries with some of our weekly volunteers.

The following is an excerpt from a reflection written by Patrick Taylor, from Providence College.

The primary connection was not in the gifts we were bringing or in the proximity of the locations. It came from the organization's dedication to break down the barriers of provider and servant to see brother and sister, mother and father, and person to person in the eyes of those who are going through a rough time. The revolutionary aspect of the organization is the dedication to connection, and the experience of finding common ground with everyone we come into contact with.

I realized this common purpose and connection in the Community Day of Thursday, an event where My Brother's Keeper volunteers come together as a single community to pack boxes of food, move furniture, make box springs, and enjoy the experience of a community meal. It involved the breakdown of traditional age and environmental barriers to see the deeper bonds that tie the human race together, and finding comfort in the message of the Gospel and the Christian community.

My Brother's Keeper has changed my life because a small community of passionate individuals came together to realize the true message of the Christian faith through the giving of material items with a symbolic purpose. It comes back to the message we provide with the gift of the crucifix at the close of each furniture delivery: we did not provide the furniture, we are simply the delivery people. Christ is the one that provided the furniture.

The following is an excerpt from a reflection written by Joe Gagnon, from the University of Notre Dame.

      The first delivery of the first day was extremely shocking to me.  It was in the city of Brockton, which has a reputation of struggling economically as well as with issues of violence and drugs.  This delivery was not to a rough neighborhood however.   In fact we were all surprised when we headed into a nice suburban neighborhood in the west side of the city with well maintained homes many with nice cars in the driveways.  The house that we pulled up to was a pretty nice home on the outside.  It was hard not to notice a new Lexus parked in the neighboring driveway.  This surely did not seem like the face of urban poverty.  Upon entering the house my expectations and preconceived notions were erased.

      The house was home to a recently widowed middle aged woman and her two youngest children.  They had been living at their home since before Halloween yet despite the fact it was now early January they had little to no furniture of any kind; most notably no beds and no kitchen or dining room table.  The house was mostly empty with little light aside from a couple of lamps.  The most shocking aspect of this delivery was not how these people were living (we would later experience those in even tougher environments); however what was most shocking was that from the outside you would never know that this family was struggling.  We would learn in the time we talked to the mother and a few of her adult sons who were over at the time that she had owned a home for years, but after her husband’s death about a year ago she was unable to afford to pay her mortgage and was foreclosed on.  She like many others we met others had undoubtedly been affected by the current sub prime mortgage crisis that led to foreclosure on many leaving them without the home they thought they owned.  Her new home was the only rented home in the entire neighborhood and there was nothing to indicate to her neighbors that she did not own her home as they did.  Later that night during our discussion time the founder of My Brother’s Keeper explained to us how “no one works harder to not appear poor than the poor”.

      This family was truly the face of the invisible poor or those who are around us everywhere every day without our knowledge of them.  We simply do not notice that they are there.  They are often described as the working poor as most have one or more jobs and are barely meeting the minimum requirements to survive. As a result of the fact that they do have jobs and are able to meet some of their basic needs they are often overlooked as not poor by governments, charities, and individuals. 

The following is an excerpt from a reflection written by Danielle Leary, from the University of Notre Dame.

      We next delivered to Michael, a man who was unable to work due to medical disabilities.  His case was an interesting one.  He was extremely eager to help us bring the furniture in and was very warm and friendly.  His apartment was very clean and pictures of his family were hanging all over the walls.  He pointed out paintings and a couch that his sister had given him, and the television that his niece had bought him.  It was obvious that he was very close and tight-knit with his family, yet it was fascinating to see that he still did not have a bed.  This opened my eyes to the impact family support has on financial situations. 

      I have been blessed throughout my whole life to be surrounded by a loving family, including my aunt and three cousins.  We have been lucky enough to have the financial means to support each other whenever funds are short   When my cousin bought her first house with her husband, we were all able to contribute and help get their new home started.  We have also been lucky enough to never have had to deal with tough situations, but I know that if one of us was to face adversity, the rest of us would respond with immediate and overwhelming support, both financial and emotional, because we’re lucky enough to have the means to do so.  When on the Plunge, I realized that many people are not lucky enough to have such a support system, and this is often the reason they’re financial situations are less than ideal. 

      In Michael’s case, he was lucky enough to have a network of support that loved and cared for him, but they most likely were going through tough financial times, too.  No one wants to see someone they love have to sleep on the floor, and it was obvious that Michael’s family would have provided him with a bed if they had the means to.  For him, My Brother’s Keeper made a world of difference in his life with one small delivery. 

Co-founder and President, Jim Orcutt, works with students to unpack blankets that will be given to children with the delivery of beds.

The following is an excerpt from a reflection written by Jackie Ladino, from Stonehill College.

      What I liked most about the Plunge was interacting with the families. My past volunteer activities with “the poor” involved collecting cans or toiletries. Although I know that these items make a huge difference in someone life, I did it to simply go through the motions, I did it because it was what to do during Thanksgiving and Christmas time. Knocking on the door to a triple-decker apartment and seeing a child’s eyes light up over a box of brownie mix or a package of granola bars let me realize two things; first, is that these people do not just need help during the holidays seasons but every day of their lives, and secondly, I was able to put a face to “the poor”.  For example, when I go to donate in the future I can say more than “this soup can is for the poor” but instead I can say “this soup can is going to make sure little girls like Emily are able to have something to eat so that they can perform well in school”.  Being able to put a face to the poor really makes all the difference because the reactions, the expressions, and the sheer joy of some of those recipients will be cemented in my mind forever. The Urban Plunge has been one of the most amazingly fulfilling experiences in my life. The sense of community and caring for one another I felt as soon as I walked in the door is something I will miss. You should be so proud of all that you accomplish not just the lives of those that receive deliveries but for students like myself that you allow to enter and really feel and be a part of your amazing family.

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"Whatever you do for the most humble of my people, you do for me."
Matthew 25:40