A Thank you from the SPCA and Cuba Job report

A thank you from the Cattaraugus county SPCA that can also serve as a site report :)

"thanks again for sending students to the SPCA this past Saturday. They got a lot of work done in the hours they were here including: Feeding newborn kittens, stacking tons of washed blankets used as beds in the kennels, Walking lots of dogs (the dogs really enjoyed the day!), cleaning feed and water bowls, and prepping outside kennels for painting (they had to be bleached and scrubbed). The team worked enthusiastically and were a pleasure to be with. One of the visiting students from Villa actually adopted a dog from us that day.

The Bonaresponds team is the greatest!!"

Kindest regards,

John



Pat led a small team to Cuba to paint the patio of the woman who on welcome day (August 23rd) had her garage painted.

"For the October 4^th local service day, four of us –I, my father, and two Villa Maria students- finished up a project started by BonaResponds on August 23^rd. The work for this most recent service day was to sand and repaint an elderly woman’s patio. This job for us was rather mundane; however, to her, there was nothing mundane about it. The woman we helped can only get around with great difficulty and recently has been in and out of the hospital. Despite this, she helped us out as much as possible, giving us all the supplies we needed to finish the job.

Ideally, her patio will need a second coat. However, our work significantly improved its appearance, and it will preserve her deck for this winter. Most importantly, though, was the elderly woman’s gratitude for what we did that day. "

Some Site updates from Yesetrday

New Trail Work
Originally uploaded by Nif.

Yesterday we had just over 60 volunteers working at 8 sites around the area. These included continuing the building on two homes in Allegany County and making trails through Bob's Woods.

Here are some reports from the Site leaders:

From Ashley who worked on a really cool time line of the history of BonaResponds since Katrina. VERY GOOD!

"We spent the October 4th local service day
collaborating ideas, words and pictures into a great time line that spanned the lifetime of BonaResponds. We had a little bit of trouble finding an open computer lab and had to switch a couple time, but it made the day that much more interesting. We spent several hours working on the computers, collecting information and pictures and bouncing ideas off each other and finally printing everything we needed for the time line. Before we hung the time line up in the RC, we took a short lunch
break. Hanging the time line proved to be an interesting experience as well but working together and sharing ideas we got the job done."

Update from Bob's Woods Team (Jen was the leader on this one)

"We spent the first part of the day working on various parts of trail maintenance in Bob's Woods: filling holes along the trails, especially on the dike sections, clearing branches, cutting out stumps and roots on the trails that were dangerous for walkers/runners, and trimming back bushes. Another group worked on planters near Francis, and another cleared a trail near the creek which is being prepared as an "observation look-out" - great for nature walks. The team came together right before lunch to clear some downed trees and branches behind Francis. During the rest of the day, we trail-blazed! In a brand new section between the back fields and the River Trail, a new trail through the meadow section began its transformation from some orange ribbons sprinkled throughout the deep grass and brush and strategically marking the route to a "real trail". There is more to do to finish clearing the brush and grass out to the field. Then, a pass with a lawnmower will finish the trail... or, if you ask the volunteers, several goats would be just perfect! Our team was a friendly, helpful group that worked hard and enjoyed the nice weather and fresh air. Great day!"

And Mike who led the West Clarksville crew send this along:

"We had a very, very productive day. We accomplished more than I thought we were going to. A group of us gathered about another third of Mark's total winter supply of fire wood, while another laid down the first floor, floor barrier and plywood. Along with that we also insulated the back wall of the first floor. Another group created steps for the back doorway and stacked fire wood on the outside of the house.... Once again he [Mark] greatly appreciated us helping him out again, and is so enthusiastic about being able to move in before winter"

Steve added to West Clarksville:

" We put in and finished the floor (a bunch of chipwood boards, i thought it was plywood but it wasn't). Lots of firewood was collected again. For the upstairs floor they're gonna polish it and then put linoleum tiles down. Some parts downstairs will be carpeted. Insulation was started on the back wall."