The Story of LEAP

 I'm sure everyone knows the gist of it by now, but it is important to know where we come from as an organization to know where we go from here. LEAP began as a week-long conference held in early 2011. The point of this conference was to increase student awareness about poverty, especially poverty in Macon. We had speakers, panels, and even a poverty simulation. Personally, I remember aiding in the poverty simulation as an "illegal activities person". Basically, I was a thief, a gang, and a jailbird for most of the simulation. I stole things from houses, bullied people into trading them in for money for me, and things like that. I had a toy gun and got "arrested" on several occasions by a police officer who was acting as, well, a police officer.

So we had the panels and simulations. We learned what was going on in Macon. And we committed 10,000 hours of community service in order to make a difference. And the LEAP we know now was born from those hours. Originally, LEAP stood for Local Engagement Against Poverty, but we have grown beyond our 10,000 hour goal and our own name. Though we want to get 10,000 hours, we do not want to stop there. Ten thousand hours will not eliminate poverty in Macon, and we do not want to leave a job undone.
Now, we are an organization putting forward service Saturdays, hoping to get the entire campus involved in community with Macon. It is about working together to make Macon a(n even) better place to live.

-Bailee Kitchens, Director of Marketing

Being a Good NeighBEAR

Trash Clean up at NeighBEAR. Photo courtesy Kirsten Brown.

  Images from the Gulf Coast oil spill of innocent sea creatures swamped in toxic tar touch the heart strings of every American. We empathize with these poor creatures whose homes have been contaminated, even destroyed—who cannot move without facing a barrage of filth.

Yet while we can claim empathy, can we go farther and claim sympathy as well? Judging from what I saw this Saturday, we most certainly can. Walking around the streets of Macon appalled me; heaps of trash were more common and burdensome than the squirrels and roaches combined! I wondered how people could care so much about the welfare of the Gulf life, without stopping to consider the welfare of their own neighbors.

But some neighbors—or should I say Neighbears—took action against the trash epidemic. Over 350 Mercer students gathered together on Saturday, September 15^th, to clean the streets of Macon, Georgia. They divided and they conquered, collecting endless trash bags full of garbage.

These students did not work for pride, glory, or recognition. They worked for community, compassion, and the joy of serving others.

- Kirsten Brown