Looking Back...

As of this writing, I have spent a little over twelve hours interning at the Grandview Community Center, which is set up in a low-income housing district so that children have a safe place to go after school where they can supervised. (Most of the children come from families whose parents work, and this offers an alternative to them being home alone and unattended.) Grandview encourages educational activities that are likewise entertaining, in order to help the children excel in school, and thus have more opportunities available to them when they enter the work force, or pursue college. Many of these children are extremely bright and talented, but because of their social class and limited means they have more hurdles than most. In addition to being a safe haven, Grandview is a positive environment that also encourages personal growth, teaching them through personal interaction about respecting others as well as themselves. Instilling within the children a strong sense of self-esteem is critical, as this will ultimately determine where life takes them after school.

It was difficult for me to initially follow through with the Service Learning Program; numerous physical and psychological disabilities make it difficult for me to function properly in social situations, which included all of the sites associated with this assignment. Eventually, I decided on the Community Center, as the desire and opportunity to help children with their education helped me to overcome much of the fear and anxiety. The knowledge that I had the means to make a positive contribution to their futures became my mission statement, and is what helped me to overcome some personal issues in order to make that a reality.

The first day was difficult, because of my unfamiliarity with the program and the children's specific needs, but through observation I began finding ways I could contribute, particularly through tutoring. (Luckily, I excelled in school as a youth, so I was able to help the children with their homework, regardless of age or subject, as the weeks progressed.) On my second day, I revealed my modest abilities as an artist, and offered to teach anyone who was interested some advanced basics. Through this, I developed a closer relationship with the children, and found that I could spark their creativity as well as their intellect. During this second week, I also discovered a means in which I could contribute to Grandview that would now only have a lasting effect on the children with whom I had personally interacted, but also benefit children who would come to rely on the Center after I had left.

On my third week, I brought in about 150 like-new books with which to expand their wholly inadequate library. Most of the books they had had long since served their purpose; many were tattered and incomplete, and the children had grown bored with rereading the same tired books week after week. Although I also come from a low-income situation, I acquired the books using my own money from Goodwill, where I used to work, and was able to get a good discount once I explained the situation. (Grandview's funding for books had been cut off months before, and they had received almost nothing in the way of donations since then.) As I mentioned in a previous blog, I always had a wealth of books at my disposal as a child--which had a profound impact on me--and I felt these children deserved the same luxury, and if I was able to facilitate this, it would bring me a great deal of personal satisfaction knowing I made a difference, however small.

Although I still have a few weeks left at Grandview, having started my Service Learning late, I have a stronger sense of how I can contribute my time. I am still working on expanding their library, so much so that they are looking for another bookshelf with which to accommodate the growing catalogue. I think I have also located a set of encyclopedias and a children's reference series someone is willing to donate, as I feel this would help them with school work immensely. I have been told by the supervisors that numerous students keep asking when I will return, as they are eager for me to teach them more about drawing and art in general, so I think its safe to say that any time I spend at Grandview is already accounted for.

In retrospect, I am glad that I made the choice to not only follow through with the Service Learning Program, but also that I chose Grandview as my project. (I have the feeling that even after I have fulfilled my obligations as an intern, I will probably return there time and again when time permits.) It has been fulfilling on several levels, and I hope that the self-esteem of the children has benefited from the experience as much as my own. These children are extremely special, and the world will only benefit from their diversity and uniqueness; all they need is a fighting chance, and hopefully my efforts will give them some small edge that they didn't have before. It may be lot to hope for, but in my eyes, it was worth the effort, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.