Volunteering is Golden
Here I am supplying the culmination of all of my reports. This is the majority of the document I will deliver to Miss Z at Jackson Street Village. To sum up my experience, I had a great time connecting with the children, but to be honest, I think I gained more than the children...
February 4th (3:00 to 5:00 PM): I, along with my roommate David Ziemer, volunteered for the first time this semester at Jackson Street Village. We had both previously volunteered there for our prior semester. After having contacted the establishment, we met with Miss Z and we discussed the optimum time to volunteer in the future. We decided that Mondays (from 2:30 to 4:30 PM): would be the best time for Dave and myself, as well as the children we would be helping. On this day, only a couple of students came in, and they had very few homework assignments. I spent the majority of the time reading a Doctor Seuss book with one of the students.
February 28th (from 2:30 to 4:30 PM): On the 28th, the children did not have classes for President’s Day. Instead, they were all invited to watch a movie and snack on popcorn. Dave and I arrived before the majority of the children had arrived. The event drew an audience of at least fifteen of the local children (which is a lot!). We prepared the popcorn and juice (as well as some Valentine’s Day treats) for the children, and delivered it to them. Everyone was very energetic and it was difficult to get them to settle down. By the end, popcorn and candy were everywhere, and two juice-spill incidents occurred. Miss Z was forced to instruct the children to go home because they were too loud and they were misbehaving. Afterward, Dave and I cleaned up after the children.
March 3rd (from 2:30 to 4:30 PM): On the 3rd, the children had a book reading day, in dedication of Dr. Seuss’ birthday. I basically read, or helped to read books with the children; as well as help to make door knob signs that said “I’m reading� or something like that. We read through books like Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are, The Cat in the Hat, and Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?, as well as some other non-Dr. Seuss titles. The children behaved very well, and the day was a big success. I felt really content with my volunteer experience.
March 31st (from 2:30 to 4:30 PM): On the 31st, only a few children showed up with homework to do. I helped one student with area and volume problems. I was impressed with the complexity of the problems he had (I had to double-check my own answers!). I helped this student for 40 minutes or so, and then talked to the other children until 4:30; while Dave helped another student read a book. The day was pretty average since most of the children didn’t have homework.
April 14th (from 2:30 to 4:30 PM): On the 14th, very few children showed up once again. I spent the first half of the volunteer time talking to children and reading with them. Later, I helped a student learn how to use Venn diagrams with simple math. Each Venn diagram had two circles of numbers, and of course, some numbers overlapped. The assignment was to find the pattern in each individual circle. For example, there would be a group of odd numbers in the left circle, and multiples of three in the right. The answer would be ‘odd’ and ‘X3.’ It was really fun giving the student hints. He really seemed to be getting the hang of it by the end, even though the answers were getting more and more complex. I really enjoyed myself on this day.