Our Teens on Gulf Coast Mitzvah Mission
Febuary 2010
Our teens were busy every second! Immediately after landing in Pensacola, FL, the group headed straight to the Emergency Operations Center in Pensacola. Described
to me by our staff as “just like CTU from the show 24,” this center
handles emergencies of all kinds, including natural disasters, terrorist
threats and other threats to our country. Our group toured the Center and learned about the many different kinds of work done through this agency. They
even visited a live 911 call room, where, while being very quiet, they
listened to 911 calls coming in to see how emergency situations are
handled. After that, the group headed to a Community Garden where they spent the afternoon working. Their main task was to ready the beds for planting. While there they also learned more about community gardens and how they provide sustenance for the community. For dinner, our New York group had a traditional southern dinner, complete with fried okra, biscuits and fried chicken. Although it was a long day, the teens enjoyed some evening fun bowling before heading back to the hotel for sleep.
The next morning, breakfast first, then on to the bus to head to their second stop on the road trip--Mobile, Alabama. In Mobile, the group was split in half for the day's work. One
group spent the day with an organization that collects all kinds of
media data about environmental issues along the Gulf Coast to be used
for academia and for possible lawsuits. The teens in this
group actually spent time searching through newspapers and clipping
articles that dealt with environmental issues along the coast, and then
spent time cataloging what they had collected. The teens found this really interesting work, not realizing before that someone actually has to keep a record of these things. The
second group spent the day at a Food Bank serving 20 counties across
three different state lines. This group of teens spent their day sorting
through all of the donations that had come in during the past few days,
removing items which were not usable, and then re-packing the items to
be sent out to those in need.
Evening brought the group back together for a great cruise boat ride. In
addition to having a delicious dinner on the cruise, the teens were
excited to see a large school of dolphins in the water nearby. It was a great way to end the day.
Our teens are truly dedicated to the work they are doing. An amazing trip, and an amazing group of kids!