On July 12, 2019, six members of the AYLUS East Cobb Branch helped set up and host Northeast Cobb YMCA’s first annual East Cobb block party.
The event’s purpose was to bring together members of the local community and allow them to see what goods and services local companies could offer. Some companies went there to give out free samples of their products, and others went to demonstrate what they do to keep the community safe and stable.
From 4:30 to 8:30, volunteers assisted the YMCA staff to make the party go smoothly. The first members to arrive immediately went to work. They helped transfer food that needed to be refrigerated from outside the building to where the food could be cooled. The YMCA staff was ecstatic to see that they would have extra hands to help and even recognized some of the members from previous volunteering!
Afterward, more members began arriving, and more tasks were given out to the volunteers. The main task that representatives of the companies participating needed help with was setting up their large pop-up tents. Setting up these tents required a minimum of four people and was a tough task to do in the hot weather. Despite the difficulty of the task, our members gladly helped set up the giant tents in order to offer shade to the vendors. There were often only one or two people at the event for each company, so it would have been a nearly impossible task for them to do alone. The vendors were very thankful for the help of our members and smiled brightly when they realized the most difficult part of setting up was over.
Some of the vendors needed extra help with setting up their stations, so members would stay and assist them with other tasks. Other members moved on to set up more tents and only took a break when no more needed to be set up.
When every station was prepared, the party finally began. Throughout the event, some members continued to assist certain vendors while others went around to give a hand wherever they could. Some volunteers even handed out free food for visitors. The whole party ran very smoothly, and all the guests seemed to enjoy the event.
Attendance: Isabel Zhou (4 hours), Michael D. Fu (3 hours), Kevin Shen (3 hours), Jeffrey Kuang (2 hours), Nick Vincent (3 hours), Jiarong Jonathon Wang (2 hours)
Reported by Isabel Zhou
