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Day 18

After enjoying the enormous generosity The Arc of Central Nebraska yesterday, who put the team up in the beautiful Hotel Grand for some much needed rest, the team was up bright and early again this morning to get back on the road. Today's destination: Denver, Colorado. As everyone sleepily shuffles out of the hotel, perhaps wishing we were still relishing the comfort the air conditioned rooms and an actual bed to sleep on, we pack up the van with the luggage, the tools, and our tired selves to hit the road. 

The drive is long and scenic. The long golden  plains and green farmland typical of the Midwest whizzes by out the windows of the van and the clouds tower high above. Many of us took advantage of the car ride to get a few more hours of shut eye, as our driver guzzled caffeine and played some mellow tunes over the radio. 

When we finally got to Denver headed directly to our lodging, sponsored by Developmental Disabilities Resources Center, to get settled for the night. We met with Trevor Joy, set up our spots on the large gymnasium floor and then got ready to go meet with pi kapp alumni Adam Bacon and John McGarry (Beta Gamma Colorado Boulder and Eta Upsilon Miami Ohio) who sponsored a delicious meal for us at the Wynkoop Brewery in downtown Denver. 

After we were all finally well-fed and well-rested, the team decided to go out, have some fun and explore Denver on our night off. One of the team members, Austin Bolella, is a member of the local DU pi kap chapter epsilon chi and generously invited his brothers to his house here in Denver. The mood was lively and the whole team had a great time relaxing, hanging out, sharing stories and meeting some fellow pi kapp's from Epsilon Chi chapter. 
It was a great night but also a long day and after a couple hours out everyone was exhausted and ready to call it a night. Overall, the day was another in a series of exciting, eventful exhausting days that the whole team has all come to expect here on Build America. 

Nick Strohmeyer

Build America 2017

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Day 17

Today was our last day at Camp Wawbeek in the Wisconsin Dells and we hit the road early this morning at 8:00 to make the trek to Grand Island, Nebraska. We had a long previous night of working overtime on our projects, the pirate ship and the shed. We completed the pirate ship which was an incredible accomplishment! I'm very proud of our team for their dedication to work overtime to complete this project along with the team that worked their butts off to build the shed in a short period of time. Once we all woke up this Friday morning, we gathered our things and started to pack the vans for our early departure. While we were packing the vans, a bunch of campers from Camp Wawbeek ran up to the recently built pirate ship and started to play on it. That was the most rewarding thing I've ever experienced in my life. Seeing these campers having a blast playing pirates or something related to it on something I had a hand in building is truly amazing. Also knowing the pirate ship will be used for years to come and bring joy to many kids puts the biggest smile on my face.  

The long trip for Grand Island, Nebraska was ahead of us, a nice 10.5 hour car ride. We traveled from Wisconsin through the entire state of Iowa and then about half way through Nebraska to reach our destination of Grand Island. I personally have never been to Nebraska and the way we were greeted as a team at our sponsor dinner was remarkable. I felt like a rockstar arriving for a concert. There were people outside to greet us and to invite us inside for a sensational barbecue dinner. Following dinner, the sponsors took us to a local park that they made safe and accessible for people with disabilities. The park was filled with shoutouts to Pi Kappa Phi and Push America before it changed to the Ability Experience. The park contained a rectangular section that had Push America on it along with our Greek letters on the sidewalk next to a tree that a previous Build America team had planted. The park also had two other trees that had memorial stones that honored a former journey of hope member who sadly passed away and made a huge impact on families in Grand Island. The other memorial stone was for a daughter of one of our fantastic sponsors that made a great connection with Build America and Journey of Hope teams. Seeing these memorial stones really opened my eyes and made me realize the impact our Build America team has on families that have loved one with disabilities. I would like to thank our sponsors from Grand Island for the eye opening impact we make and the wonderful dinner. 

Josh Reichert
Build America Team Member

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Day 16

Today we finished our pirate ship project for the campers at camp wawbeek! The feeling of looking at the completed project is ineffable. As the kids played, phantasmagoric beams illuminated their eyes. It has been an honor to serve these kids and this moment will stay with me forever.
I am so grateful that I have an opportunity to attend the summer program, Build America. I am grateful because the emotions I have felt on this trip will cascade into lifelong servitude and happiness. I love seeing the campers happy, they give me so much joy

Geno Oliva 

Build America 2017

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Day 15

Today we got an extra thirty minutes of sleep and woke up at 7:30. From circle up we went straight to breakfast where I ate with Amante, who has been keeping us entertained all week. After that it was right back to work, as we needed to make good progress on the pirate ship as well as start a shed today. We worked on getting the cut list and the plans all ready until lunch, and after that I went with a handful of other guys to start the shed by the archery range. 

After hours of dealing with the shed project, it was time for dinner and then programming. The camp had an outdoor variety show planned for the night, where we got to enjoy the talents of many campers. One of my favorite acts was put on by Austin, who put on a show full of basketball tricks. He spun it, changed fingers, and showed off all kinds of dribble skills. Another fun act was the singing of TNT by AC/DC, which our brother Matt joined in on, doing his best Angus Young impression. Finally, towards the end of the night one of the campers sang Don't Stop Believing by Journey, and the entire crowd was belting it out. I couldn't have wished for a better ending to the night.

Davin Newsome

Build America 2017

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Day 14

Today was our second day building the Pirate Ship, and we made a lot of progress. This project has been particularly difficult, but moving through the challenges is helping the team build a stronger bond, and build better communication skills. We still have a lot of work left to go, but since the weather is cooperating a little bit better this week, and because everyone is getting into a groove I am confident that we will finish this project by our deadline! 

This morning I got to go into town to go one a Duck ride through Wisconsin Dells, and that was an amazing experience.The Dells is such a tourist attraction, so being able to go through the town and see all of the atrractions both on land and on water was one of the highlights of my day. Throughout the day, I was feeling a bit under the weather so I spent the afternoon resting in our lodging so I could be prepared to go to evening programming with the campers. The camp had a carnival set up on site, and we got to play games with the campers! There was a petting zoo, corn hole, field games, twister, and at the end the campers got to pie people in the face. Luckily, I wasn't one of the BAM guys that got pinned to get hit, but several of us did get hit. Despite feeling a little sick, this was a great day, and at the end of everyday I am a little bit more greatful that I decided to come on this amazing journey. 

Andrew Miller 

Social Media Coordinator 

Build America 2017 

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Day 13

We arrived at Camp Wawbeek yesterday to a warm welcome by campers and staff. The evening camp fire program really had me excited for our first day of work. With this camp being a kids camp, the atmosphere was very high energy and playful; I spent most my evening playing catch or singing camp fire songs. 
Today we woke up early, had breakfast with the campers, and went out to start the project. I was nervous about the pirate ship before arriving at camp, but construction has been running smoothly. There has been plenty of prepping boards and laying foundation but the team has been working together well.
I was sent to an afternoon program where I played some camp games with the campers, staff, and other BAM members. Encounters like that make the trip much more memorable as the times with campers are always worthwhile . Tomorrow holds more construction and camp programs and I am excited to start it.

Danny Linder

Build America 2017

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Day 12

We woke up bright and early at 6:30 in the morning in a Super 8 motel on the outskirts of Peoria, Illinois.  It was a pleasant change to sleep in a bed rather than on the floor, like we did for orientation and camp 1.  The comfort of the bed made it even more difficult to wake up for our sponsored breakfast which was at the West Peoria Fire Department at 7:30.  Guydeen cooked up a lovely breakfast that consisted of eggs, fruit, bacon, sausage and donuts along with milk or juice.  The breakfast was a much needed break from our normal routine of bagels, and a huge shoutout to Ryan and Alec from the Bradley University Pi Kappa Phi chapter for their hospitality.  After breakfast, we were on the road heading out of Peoria towards our second camp, Camp Wawbeek in Wisconsin. 

The road was pretty uneventful.  It was a short 4 hour drive to get to the camp and the team made a couple of stops along the way.  One of the stops, in Wisconsin Dells, we went to one of the largest and nicest McDonalds I have ever seen. After the quick Mickey D's run, the team stocked up on supplies that we needed for the next week at camp in the local Walgreens. Arriving at camp we were greeted by the staff and given a brief tour of the campus. When 5 o'clock rolled around it was time for dinner. The team filled into a huge cafeteria room and ate pizza with the campers. At Camp Wawbeek, the campers range from ages 10-25 and have high-functioning autism, otherwise known as Aspergers.   After dinner we sat around the campfire and sang camp songs as well as made some s'mores!  It was great meeting all the campers and counsellors, I'm pumped for the week ahead

Carson Leisy

Build America 2017