Hello from Arizona. We are Lily B and Alyssa M, and we are having such a great time in Tucson, AZ. Our group started the day nice and early with a grab and go breakfast and arriving at the Pio Decimo Center at around 8:15 this morning. We quickly met with John Lohse, our volunteer coordinator at the center. We learned more about the services that the center offers and got to work. After a brief tour we were stared painting throughout the center. Most of our group worked in the back playground refreshing the paint on the inside wall of the main playground. A few students also worked in the front playground and pained a track for students to ride tricycles on, in addition to a chalkboard wall. Our painting was met with scattered showers however we were able to make the most of it and finished priming the inside wall and the track. We also worked on painting a gate in the back playground to end up matching the finished inside wall. Our day was not all work as we also spent time as a group chatting and taking time to refresh throughout the day. Unfortunately, due to the weather we had to end a little earlier than planned but we worked together to make sure that we are ready to hit the ground running tomorrow when we return. Following our time at the center we returned home and had some down time before dinner. Some members of the group took a walk into town to explore and found a local coffee shop and found an art store that had closed for the day. The remainder of the group stayed back and took time to relax. When the group returned two group members began to prepare spaghetti and salad for dinner. Our dinner was full of laughs, stories, and more group bonding. After cleaning up dinner we had our group reflection which focused on privileges that we take for granted. All though we are fortunate to have many of these opportunities, we also discussed that it is okay to have these privileges. As we wrap up for the night, we are excited to return to Pio Decimo Center tomorrow and continue helping the community.

Jenna, Sarah, Hiyori, and Ha taking a break in the rain after cleaning up from painting.

Students working together to carefully prime the wall in the back playground

Ha and Alyssa working to prepare the font playground for the painting of the tricycle track.