Wifi Enabled: We are ready to blog!

We were able to get the Wi-Fi up and running tonight so we will all be contributing to the blog consistently now throughout the week!

After leaving Memphis Sunday morning, Van 3 aka The Black Widow as named by the van's occupants, ventured to Graceland to take pictures of the birthplace of Elvis before making the drive south to New Orleans.

Part of the tradition of Graceland is to write on the wall at the front gate to prove you were there. Van 3 did just that.

Here are a few others from Graceland...

SENO and New Orleans overview with Andrea Chen, Leslie Jacobs, and Sarah Usdin

Crewe of Thor Parade

Our first Mardi Gras parade was an experience. In Kalamazoo, parades aren't nearly as interactive as what we saw here. We arrived when the parade was nearly done so we rushed to the curb and elbowed our way in. The atmosphere encouraged you to shout and scream and within 30 minutes we were loaded with beads, moon pies, whistles, bags, and cups. The longer we were there, the bolder we became. Jena begged for a set of beads with dollar signs. Mercedes scored a black and gold parade umbrella, and Tim nearly knocked out a grade schooler for an awesome set of beads adorned with a large flur de lis. More to parades to come on Wednesday.

Before then, however, we start our real work. We begin at 8:00 with an overview from SENO's director, Andrea Chen. After two solid days of travel, it's going to be an early morning.

Hello Memphis!

We have made it to Memphis!

All 19 of us piled into 3 vans and took off around 8:30 am EST from the Rec Center at WMU. We headed south through Indiana and Illinois in the morning. After stopping just north of Champagne, Illinois for lunch, we continued our travels through Arkansas and then into Tennessee where we arrived at our hotel in Memphis around 7:15 pm local time.


After checking into our hotel, we found an awesome local BBQ establishment, Central BBQ. It felt great to hang out with everyone and enjoy some great food!


We will be up bright and early in the morning to finish our trip down to New Orleans. More pictures to follow once we reach New Orleans.

Ministry With Community

What a great time serving together with the folks at MwC! It is learning in a whole different way. What are some of the Master Stories intersecting in that place? I met someone who had served weekly at Ministry for 20 years. What motivates that? And another person who fought in WW II. We talked about his experience in the war. It made me think about my father and the stories he never told. I was asked to play dominoes by some folks sitting around before the meal. I realized I had forgotten how to play even as I was sure I knew when I was a kid. Time moves us on. We become different people. And as I left, I saw a former student of mine. One forgets that homelessness affects many people in this economy. It was fun working with the class in a new way. I wanted to ask, "What do you see?" "What are you thinking?" "Where is the CIR in this experience?" I guess I will have to wait a couple of weeks to find out. I am feeling a little sad that I will not be going but write to me on the blog. I want to hear about it all! And drive safely! coleen

PS How do I get my picture in the followers group?

Ministry with Community

We had hoped to spend a day in New Orleans working on a traditional service project. However, because we'll be there the week before Mardi Gras, most volunteer opportunities are full. The class decided instead to serve at Ministry with Community in downtown Kalamazoo. One of our teams is conducting research for MwC so this was a good fit. Our role was to help with set-up and to serve the meal to about 200 people. It was a great opportunity for us to get to know each other better and to give back to one of our project clients. Hopefully students will blog and talk about their experience.

Vans have been picked up at Enterprise. We're almost ready to roll.

A note about our sponsors

As we finish planning and look forward to heading south on Saturday, I want to say thank you to a variety of folks who are supporting this trip. In no particular order, they include:

1. Lee Honors College and Dr. Nick Andreadis who encouraged this class from the beginning and is providing faculty support.
2. WMU's United Campus Ministry and Coleen Slosberg. Coleen is co-teaching the class and has sought financial support to reduce the trip costs to our students. She also has lots of know-how on running an alternative spring break trip.
3. HCoB, Dean Kay Palan, and Robert Landeros (chair of the Management department) for encouraging this non-traditional class.
4. Financial supporters including Southwest Association (United Church of Christ), First Congregational Church of Kalamazoo (UCC). Our students appreciate your generosity!
5. Good Shepherd United Church of Christ in Metairie, LA for providing an affordable home base while in New Orleans.
6. Social Entrepreneurs of New Orleans and Andrea Chen who have embraced this trip from the beginning.

Thanks to all of you. tbp

Kalamazoo Planning Session

"Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society's most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change." - Ashoka

MGMT 4000, Social Entrepreneurship, is a class of 16 business students who chose to give up a week in Cancun to enjoy an Alternative Spring Break in the Crescent City. While there, we will partner with SENO, Social Entrepreneurs of New Orleans, to learn from residents of New Orleans who have stepped up to innovate and solve the problems around them. Our job is to tell their stories as inspiring tales of regular people who had the courage to push the envelope and develop solutions that others had not yet envisioned.

We have six days before we depart. Several students have no power thanks to an ice storm. Others have endured skidding off roads and trees uprooted. There are still plans to make, exams to take, and clothes to pack. "Laissez les bon temps rouler!"