Beach Sweep

10 LGSers gathered to help with this annual worldwide clean up effort through the Ocean Conservancy Program. Approximately 45 total volunteers gathered at MB Travel Park and dispersed into groups to clean up our beach. It was amazing to see how much litter really accumulates here and the group rallied around the cause enthusiastically. Some even came prepared with their own garbage grabbers!

We were given special permission for the day to climb into the dunes as that seemed to be where most of the trash accumulated. The guys, especially, took the lead and climbed right in; fearless of any critters that may be living there, they combed through the brush and gathered multiple bags full of litter. In addition to typical wrapper and cigarette butt litter, we found everything from bottles/cans, to hair products, to kid’s toys and many more random things you wouldn’t even expect to find at the beach!

We separated recyclables from trash and ended up with a vastly improved beach atmosphere and were even thanked by random beach goers for our efforts.  Prizes were awarded for “most unique” item found as well as the largest. Raffle prizes were also given away and Sticky Fingers was generous enough to provide a delicious lunch for us at the end of the day.

The results of our findings were as follows:

• Food Wrappers: 226
• Straws: 61
• Cigarettes: 2516
• Fireworks: 46
• Glass Bottles: 52
• Aluminum Cans: 180
• Plastic Bottles: 91
• Bottle Caps: 63

Trash & Recyclables Collected

Wampee Overnight Retreat

Orientation was a little over 3 weeks ago and Class 34 is already off to an excellent start with multiple volunteer projects and hours under our belts. We didn’t bother wasting anytime, which is definitely a sign of things to come.

I think we were all looking forward to the Retreat as we had heard over and over again about the great experiences everyone had there in the past. Even though we weren’t all fully acquainted yet, it was great to pull up to the site and see that so many classmates had carpooled together. This really kick started our experience as the 2 hour journey south gave us a little extra time to get to know one another.

Things moved along quickly as we segued right into Welcomes from Diana and the Board of Regents and then stepped outside to enjoy the beautiful view (and weather) for an ice breaking session with a trivia ball. We spent the next 48 hours learning about ourselves (and each other) through the SELF profile testing, leadership training with Eileen Soisson, break out PODS sessions (People Openly Discussing Stuff), feasting on each fabulous meal that the awesome staff at Wampee put out for us, and listening to Lifeline presentations. We did pretty good on our "Acid River" team building exercise too, finishing in just under an hour. Not bad considering the course was made to be more difficult this year AND we had more people than previous classes did.

Eileen’s enthusiasm as a trainer was evident from the start and she did a great job of keeping us engaged and intrigued. The lifelines were the highlight of the trip – each of us had approximately 10 minutes to share their life stories with everyone. We were encouraged to be creative and the class sure produced! We saw everything from homemade crafts, to shopping cart and hat props, to picture boards and some even made us yummy treats J  I think the whole class would agree that this gave us an opportunity to really connect with each other and we had no choice but to be vulnerable in a room full of strangers.

In the midst of all of this “work” (if you can really call it that) we made time for some fun at our social gathering Sunday night. Laughs were had, ghost stories were shared and refrigerators were raided to satisfy some late night ice cream cravings.  All-in-all, this retreat was a one of a kind experience that none of us will forget.

Acid River Team Builder

Class 34 Gearing Up for a Leadership Training Session

United Way Day of Caring

The United Way certainly put a positive spin on such a notoriously unlucky day! The day began at the Carolina Forest Rec Center with over 250 volunteers from 31 different companies that tackled 12 various projects around the community. It was truly inspiring to see so many people united with the same goal in mind: To Help!

The LGS crew, directed by Julie Kopnicky from the Board of Regents, was assigned to the Horry County Disabilities and Special Needs clients. We were responsible for throwing them an indoor carnival at the OceanLakes Campground; our main objective: to show them a good time! Clients had a fun-filled day playing ping pong, singing karaoke, dancing and games with the Wii, corn hole and ring toss (to name a few).  The biggest hits were definitely the Just Dance game and the face painting. Those guys and gals had moves!

An impressive 15 LGSers turned out for the event and were joined by multiple other community volunteers. It was rewarding to see the joy on these clients’ faces as they were able to “let loose” and enjoy themselves without worrying about the hardships they face everyday.

LGS Volunteers

Lauren with her buddy for the day, Beth