Despite the cold weather, Shaw says she receives a warm welcome from nearly everyone who opens their door. “Iowans are just such amazing people,” she said. “You call them up… and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, come over, have dinner.'”

Shaw credits her father’s volunteer work during John Kerry’s 2004 campaign as the impetus for her love of politics and political organizing.

Read and listen: on the MPR News site.

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This annual event will be coordinated this spring by the Thrivent Fellows in cooperation with West Bank Community Coalition, CHANCE (Cedar-Humphrey Action for Neighborhood Collaborative Engagement) from the Humphrey School, and the Trinity Lutheran congregation. Augsburg’s Campus Kitchen program is providing food for the dinner.

Maya Keith ’13, a Thrivent Fellow, said the dinner will feature foods representing the different cultures in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

“The purpose is just to get people from the neighborhood together to share a meal,” Keith said. Minneapolis City Council Member, Cam Gordon, will speak at the dinner, and the Brian Coyle youth group will do a presentation, but Keith said the programming will be kept to a minimum so that people can simply talk with each other.

Volunteers are needed from 4-5 p.m. (set up) or 5-7 p.m. (servers) or 7-8 p.m. (clean-up) or all three shifts. If interested in volunteering please contact Maya Keith at keith@augsburg.edu or Shana Strong at strongs@augsburg.edu

About the Thrivent Leadership Fellows program

Augsburg students, staff, and faculty are engaged in actively strengthening their communities both on- and off-campus. The Thrivent Leadership Fellows Program exists to harness and direct that energy through organized volunteer events and activities. Eight student Thrivent Fellows work together to bring a variety of volunteer opportunities to the Augsburg community, like cooking classes that benefit local shelters, food shelf drives, and ACT tutoring sessions. Through sharpening their leadership and communication skills, the Fellows aim to get the Augsburg community involved in grassroots volunteerism.

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That is precisely how Augsburg senior, Matt Eller, feels about Kenny, a man he met last month in New Orleans.

Matt and 12 other Augsburg students met Kenny on the spring break Pedalers for Peace trip. Kenny was the group’s New Orleans neighbor; he lived on the back porch of the house next door to where the Pedalers set up camp. Throughout the week, Kenny served as unofficial tour guide to the students, helping them find places to volunteer.

Kenny also literally gave Matt the jacket off his back on the day the group left the city. He recalled, “A man who had absolutely nothing gave us his own things.” Kenny’s generosity so touched Matt that he committed to sleeping in a tent on Augsburg’s campus for one month to raise awareness and donations for New Orleans residents.

On the trip, Matt heard that people like Kenny are returning to New Orleans to find their former homes barricaded with barbed wire, declared unsafe for occupancy. The Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act, passed in 2006, requires public or HUD-assisted housing to be replaced, but the Pedalers learned that affordable housing is not being constructed. “They are trying to squish the poor out,” Matt said. “The government says that by building mixed-income housing they are trying to get rid of crime, but their plan is racially and economically driven.”

From April 3 to May 3, Matt is camping in the quad and asking students, faculty, and staff to donate money or personal care items. On Saturday, April 19, he is inviting the Augsburg community to join him for a cookout from 9 p.m. to midnight and to bring toothpaste and toothbrushes, tampons and pads, condoms, deodorant, paper and pens, board games, blankets, or clothing.

When asked why it matters that a private college student is sleeping in a tent, Matt says he wants people to become consciously aware of those who do not have adequate food or shelter. “The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter how much money you have or don’t have,” he said. “Nobody wants to see somebody suffering. Nobody wants to see someone sleeping under a bridge.”

In May, the renamed “Pedalers for Projects” will return to New Orleans with their bikes and the items Matt collects. For more information about this project, talk to Matt in the quad or e-mail him at ellerm@augsburg.edu.

Media coverage of Matt’s effort:

KSTP-TV:

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“We” were the Pedalers for Peace, and this was the all-too-appropriate beginning to what turned out to be the most unpredictable and completely eye-opening spring break.

The initial plan was simple — 13 students, one advisor, and their bikes would travel to New Orleans and tackle the 100-mile road to Biloxi, Mississippi. The idea was to camp and volunteer along the way. But the Greyhound lady took that plan out of the realm of possibility, so we turned to Plan B.

Crunched for time and unwilling to give up, we decided to get on the bus, without our bikes, and see what New Orleans had to offer. What followed were five days that brought us to eye-level with the people of the city and their realities.

We had planned to set up tents by the St. Bernard Projects, a huge public housing development that had been flagged for demolition. As we began, New Orleans policeman promptly told us that camping there was against the law. Our host, the camping space coordinator, generously offered us the two intact rooms of his Katrina-ravaged home and backyard. The setting was shocking at first, but as we settled in and got to know our neighbors, the situation became enlightening.

On our second day, we obtained bikes from a program called RUBARB that refurbishes and sells old bikes, while also teaching children how to revitalize bikes as an alternative to more destructive hobbies.

We biked from one corner of New Orleans to another looking for people or places to help. We volunteered a few days at The Green Project, a housing supply recycling center that encouraged residents to deconstruct their homes in order to make doors, windows, railings, or bricks available for re-use. We also helped out in people’s homes — painting, pulling weeds, whatever we could do.

Some of our group witnessed protests against the St. Bernard Projects demolition. We heard moving stories about the displacement and homelessness of impoverished people and the utter cold-shoulder that has been shown them by the government. During one protest, an older woman climbed over the barbed-wire topped fence to walk silently and slowly, her cane at her side, to the site where she ascended to the top of a bulldozer and succeeded in stopping the flattening for a few hours.

In the end, the trip was really about learning. Instead of Pedaling for Peace in a straight line, we found ourselves biking in circles, seeing many of the same things, places, people, and situations every day. In doing so, we learned more about the situation facing New Orleans today than we could have imagined.

Article by Malena Thoson, pictures by Beth Franklin

Pedlars for Peace weren’t the only Augsburg students visiting New Orleans — .

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Minnesota counties affected by the flooding are Winona, Wabasha, Fillmore, Houston, Steele, and Olmsted. The Governor has declared a state of emergency for these six counties. At present there has not been a call for volunteers, but one is expected in the next few days. Until there is a request, you can help by contacting one of the following organizations: Red Cross Twin Cities, Salvation Army, United Way, and Nechama. Links to contact information are provided below.

Although Augsburg College draws students nationally and internationally, many hail from Minnesota. We, as a college, understand this tragedy may personally have affected a number of you. If you or someone you know has been impacted by this disaster, please call the Office of Student Affairs at x1160. For additional support and assistance contact Campus Ministry, x1732 or Counseling & Health Promotion, x1707.

ELCA Disaster Response

Mail donations to:

ELCA Disaster Response

P.O. Box 71764

Chicago, Illinois 60694-1764

Write “FLOODING SPREADS ACROSS FOUR STATES” on your check’s memo line.

Nechama:

Volunteer information: 763-732-0610

Salvation Army

Mail donations to:

Minnesota Flooding

2445 Prior Ave.

Roseville, MN 55113

Red Cross Twin Cities

Volunteer information: 612-871-7676 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

United Way:

Donations are being accepted by the United Way of the Greater Winona Area

Mail donations to:

United Way Disaster Fund

902 E. Second St.

Winona, MN 55987

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