Friday, December 5, 2014

LIFT Retreat 

by Lucy Edy


The LIFT retreat is one of my favorite trips each year, because we get to do a lot of really cool stuff, get out of town for a weekend, and basically have a giant slumber party. This year we got to go to Charlotte, where we did service, heard from some cool female leaders, talked a lot about feminism and what it is like to be a girl in high school, and even went to an art crawl! 
Everyone all dressed up for the Art Crawl


We learned a lot about poverty in Charlotte, including the fact that in 2012-2013, 4770 homeless children were enrolled in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools. That alarming statistic is similar to those of many other towns, and we got to do service at a place called "The Free Store" that is trying to lower that statistic. They help provide people with anything they need to survive - clothes, dishes, furniture, and even sometimes rent money - in order to stop the homelessness epidemic. We learned a lot about feminism by watching a documentary called "Miss Representation." It was really interesting and inspiring. 


I think the most memorable thing from our trip was helping out at the free store. Getting to help people face to face, and see them smile with gratitude when you found them the right size coat was just amazing. There were whole families that were shopping in the free store. It was heartwarming to see little kids get really excited about a new shirt that they had just found or go running to their parents with something and not having to hear that they couldn't have that warm coat because it cost too much. 














We met a woman named Elizabeth Mckee, who runs a program similar to Mountain Alliance, but for adults. She helps people learn leadership skills that help them in life. She was a really cool person with a strong personality and we had a nice discussion with her. We also met a woman named Stacy who worked at the Free Store who was so excited to see us and who was really enthusiastic about her work. She taught us a lot about what the Free Store does and why it's important. I think her energy and excitement about having us there put a smile on everyone's face. I didn't really have any specific goals, but I did feel really accomplished after working at the free store.


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