Sing it with me now: Yode-leh-eeh-ooh

Once a year, as part of their ongoing fundraising, Bill and Mary Frances raffle off the chance to eat a meal at the house, prepared by the volunteers, Last night the raffle winner, Janet, along with seven other guests, came to our house to claim their prize. We prepared most of the afternoon - cooking, cleaning, and re-seeding the lawn. It was quite an elegant dinner - stuffed mushrooms and bruschetta for appetizers, chicken marsala and baked zucchini as an entree, and peach cobbler with ice cream for desert.

But the best part (in my opinion) was the entertainment. Rachel P and Rachel B devised some pretty ingenious ways to share with our guests what it means to be a CVV volunteer.

First, we introduced our group to the tune of the Brady Bunch theme song:

"Now here's a story of a man named Billy / who created a volunteer program with his wife / The vision called for 12 young adults / to serve a year of life...Then one day when Bill sat down with Mary Frances / And they knew that it was much more than a hunch / That this group would somehow become a family / And that's the way we became the Vincentian Bunch!" followed by 'doo-doo-doo's' and dancing =)

But wait...there's more!

After dinner, we took the liberty of performing a montage of songs from the great theatrical classic, the Sound of Music, altered to introduce each of us and our worksite. A small snippet for your enjoyment:

[sung to tune of 'Do Re Mi']
Bethany: "Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. When you read, you begin with

All: "ABC!"

Bethany: "When you sing, you begin with Beth - A - Ny"

All: "Beth - A - Ny"

Bethany: "The first three notes just happen to be Beth - A - Ny"

All: "Beth - A - Ny"

Bethany: "Beth - A - Ny - Fa - Sol - La - Ti...Let's see if I can make it any easier.
Cross Community Coalition / is the place where I work. / We care about the environment / And tutoring children is a perk."

[Did I mention what a strange feeling it was to sing my own name repeatedly? When do you ever do that?]

Erin: [still tune of 'do re mi'] "I work at house of Sacred Heart / My name is Erin O'Sullivan / I help give women a fresh start / And that brings us back to Meg Oh Oh Oh Neill!"

[Sung to tune of "I have confidence"]

Meg O'Neill: "I have confidence in children / I work at Mt. Saint Vincent Home / I have confidence that they won't be a alone / Besides what you see I have confidence in me!"

[Sung to tune of the Yodeling Song]

Budd: "High on a hill was a man named Budd, Yode-lay-ee Yode-lay-ee Yode-lay-ee-oo! He works with Medicare, Medicaid, and all that crud, Yode-lay-ee Yode-lay-ee Yode-loo."

[Sung to the tune of "How do you solve a problem like Maria?"]

Nick: "How do solve a problem such as poverty? How do you serve the homeless on the street? How do you do your job at St. Francis Center?"

Betsy: "A mail sorter?"

Daniel: "A shower washer?"

Nick: "A Nick!"

And on, and on. Our great encore was "So long, farewell!" after which we paraded up the stairs quite dramatically and waved goodbye to all our guests while singing loudly in various keys. I think it was a pretty big hit, and we're already thinking of possible encores.

Point of the story: life is so much fun with a soundtrack!!!

Other point of the story: cooking, cleaning, and all domestic chores are so much more fun when done communally!!!! Thanks, housemates =)