While I was an undergraduate student, I had the opportunity to participate in my first service learning course. For my major, Family and Consumer Sciences, one of the courses I took was CFS 133S – Child and Family Crisis. This course examines how families react and adapt after going through a crisis. It broke down roles of the parental figures, children, and other members that can be affected by an event that alters the family dynamic.
I have had the pleasure to volunteer for the Ronald McDonald House and Valley Children’s Hospital several times and each time I did, another impact on my life was made. The Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Central Valley serves the families of patients at Valley Children’s Hospital. It is a program that provides families with food and a home to stay in while their loved ones are being taken care of. Continue reading “Ronald McDonald House & Valley Children’s Hospital Carnival”
Being Greek in the United States can present a few problems. Now, I am not referring to individuals whose grandparents, parents or themselves were born in the country of Greece. I am referring to individuals who have chosen to be part of a social fraternity or sorority. There is an extensive list of multicultural fraternities and sororities, honor societies, and major related organizations that also identify themselves through the use of Greek letters, but for the purpose of this discussion, I will focus on social fraternities and sororities. Continue reading “GR∑∑KS IN SERVICE”
Every year in the United States, children are diagnosed with a life-threatening condition they must endure. This is often a difficult sight for loved ones and friends to witness as the victim battles the illness. However, the Make-A-Wish Foundation was established to grant desires for children who are suffering from a prolonged illness. Continue reading “Make-A-Wish Golf Event”
“Miss Lilli! Miss Lilli!”
I entered the small classroom at the Mosqueda Center to this cheer twice a week. Momentarily I was back in Fiji, hearing the excited voices of those children and the love and cultural exchange we’d shared. Instead I found myself at Reading and Beyond, an after-school literacy-and-more program for elementary students of Fresno. I volunteered with this community benefit organization for my Child and Family Studies service-learning class. My job as a volunteer was to support a hired tutor as she taught a small group of students. Little did I know a simple requirement for a service-learning course would turn into a semester plus a summer of fun!
“Do the fish!” they’d say, remembering my first day’s focus on a book about undersea life. I started making fish faces, and my group was super impressed, so we all perfected our fish look. (I make a pretty accurate fish face, and also a shockingly accurate duck sound, but that’s a story for another day). I had fun like a big kid; the little ones followed what I did. Together, learning to read was fun and exciting! I modeled respect to the tutor and enthusiasm for the tasks at hand, so they did too.
In my literacy group were children who had fallen far behind in their reading levels, and others who were excelling students. Some spoke hardly any English. Others were fluently bilingual. It was incredible to see the group members assisting each other and growing together, despite such diversity. All of them were equally squirrely and excited after a long day at school, and I loved each one. During summer, the students would be served free lunch, then complete a rotation of literacy, fitness, and enrichment (essentially arts and crafts). I was amazed at the gains they made, even in a short time.
I learned so much from my Reading and Beyond experience, and I do hope that the children I worked with learned as well. I gained a lot of knowledge about working with children in particular, and about myself:
- Kids can’t handle too many instructions at once. Perfecting effective teaching and classroom management strategies are now on my to-do list and will prepare me for my future as a Speech-Language Pathologist.
- Praise means the world to children. You can see them glowing after you give them a compliment or commend them on a job well done. Even something as simple as remembering their name can excite them!
- Likewise, children have hearts of gold. I can’t tell you how many times I heard, “Teacher, you’re pretty!” or “You’re fun!” Grown-ups don’t uplift one another as much as they should.
- Competition excites some, but it can shut other kids down. Children lose motivation and interest in activities in which they feel they can’t succeed. So, I made a point to rub in the teamwork aspect. I learned to be the collaboration-promoter and enthusiastic cheerleader, especially at sports time.
- Helping children overcome unfavorable behavior is pretty rewarding. For one child who refused to participate, I hand-over-hand led him in doing the task at hand: a simple art project. I just wanted him to follow directions. Afterwards, I expected him to hate me for all eternity. But instead we became friends and he respected me. That was very eye-opening.
As a volunteer, I felt valued. My fellow volunteers and I saw the children thriving with more one-on-one attention than a staff-only environment could provide. Also, kids will teach you a thing or two!
In summary, thanks for reading,
you’re pretty,
now go volunteer with kids and really make a difference!
Have you served children before? Has a child ever taught you an important lesson? How will you serve the next generation?
~Ambassador Lilliana
I wanted to reflect on my year of service and how the Ambassador program changed my perception of what service is. Before being a part of the Ambassador program, my service was limited to working in medical or clinical settings. For three years, I have been an active volunteer with the Saint Agnes Volunteer program. Working in a hospital setting allowed me to interact with people from different paths, incomes, and social/economic classes. However as time went on, I worried that I wasn’t making as much of an impact as I knew I could.
This led me to branch out and use service to explore and connect with different people. For the past month, I’ve been alternating working with Every Neighborhood Partnership’s Saturday Sports at Lincoln Elementary, Stellar Science at Fresno State, and passing out sandwiches to homeless people on the East side of Fresno. I was astounded by how eager people are to connect and share their pain, joy, and lives! Connecting with the homeless in east and downtown Fresno has given me so much insight on how other people make do with what they have. Simply taking an hour or two of my time has formed relationships with people I would never have in a hospital setting.
Since medicine is my future career, working in other service avenues gives me skills and experiences that will definitely be invaluable to me as I continue on my path. I will have greater knowledge of the needs of different parts of the community as well as an understanding of how to best serve my patients.
If you are interested in working with any of the volunteer services I’ve mentioned, please check these links!
Saint Agnes Volunteering: http://www.samc.com/volunteering
Saturday Sports: http://everyneighborhood.org/process/#step-1
Passing out sandwiches: I wasn’t involved with an organization persay; I went to Walmart and bought PB&J sandwich supplies, encouraged my sisters to help me make and pack them and we drove around Fresno and passed them out! I highly encourage a buddy system if you would want to do this.
Stellar Science: https://sites.google.com/site/natscicsuf/events/stellar-science
How do you serve? Can you see your impact?
~Ambassador Shola
In the past year, I have been volunteering at the Fresno Rescue Mission serving meals to the less fortunate. My experience at the Fresno Rescue Mission has been wholesome, and more recently, it has been an unforgettable one. Not long ago, a member of the organization going through the rehabilitation program asked me, “Why do you volunteer?” My explanation should have been simple, but I struggled to express the answer in the correct words because there were no words to explain the feelings and emotions I felt when I volunteered. I thought to myself, “I enjoy helping others because it is a rewarding experience, to be a part of something beyond simply serving food to one individual.” I am that one small push towards change for the better because “even the smallest person can change the course for the future” (J.R.R. Tolkien). It has been inspirational to see multiple people in the program grow as individuals from when they entered to when they finished. Being a part of that initial change has been a reward in itself.
A large percentage of families in Fresno live in poverty, and Fresno is known to hold one of the largest populations of homeless people. Although Fresno is ranked among the top cities to be the most impoverished in the nation, many people are unaware of the growing problems or disregard the existence of poverty and homelessness. Unfortunately, it is difficult to help families move above the poverty line; however, I believe that we can try and improve the current conditions that we are faced with. People who have never witnessed homelessness often have difficulties comprehending the reality and the struggles homeless people face. I cannot say that I have experienced a similar situation, but being exposed to it has helped me become more thankful and more willing to extend a helping hand to the community.
So, why do I volunteer? When I volunteer I feel selfless and it takes me away from my busy schedule. Although I always seem to be stressed-out with school, volunteering has been a stress-reliever. By volunteering at the Fresno Rescue Mission, I learned more about the Fresno community, gained communication skills, and met amazing people. It makes me so joyful knowing that a simple gesture such as serving a meal can make an impact, more than I realized. It is the small things in life that make all of the difference. I guess what I am trying to say is that I volunteer because I believe at some point everyone is in need of help, and if I am capable of being a part of the help, I will do what I can to be of assistance.
Consider serving-a-meal with me, it is a simple application and orientation. Think about what you can do to help others and what impact you can make in the community. What will you do today to make your community a better place? How has service impacted your life? How has service been rewarding for you? But, most of all: WHY DO YOU VOLUNTEER?
~Ambassador Nicole
Hi Everyone!
My name is Shola and I am a first-time Ambassador. I’m very excited to do my first blog post!
After Halloween, all the holidays seem to rush and overlap one after another. During that time, while we are celebrating our families and what we are thankful for, we should keep in mind that there are individuals and families that are less fortunate than us.
There are so many volunteer organizations in Fresno that aim to assist the best they can. The Poverello House is a well-known and its great place to begin your community service journey. Fresno Rescue Mission is another great place to inquire about volunteering.
For the past few years, I’ve started to become more aware of the issue of being homeless for the holiday. It worries me that over the next few years, we will be seeing more and more families and people on the streets, with no one to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, or other family or religious traditions.
You might be thinking, “it’s so far away, I can worry about it later”. That, however, causes the issue to become less important. Thinking about the issue and how getting involved now will be worth it to see those that need your help feeling happy and thankful for their 2014 year.
~Ambassador Shola
The Richter Center Student Leaders 