Reflections after two sessions

Last week, for our first volunteer project, we met at The Bridge Project whose mission is to provide educational opportunities for children living in Denver's public housing neighborhoods so they graduate from high school and attend college or learn a trade. We toured their Westwood site on Irving street, close to Federal and Mississippi, and then played board games with some of the middle-school aged kids. The reflection questions we gave out at the end of the session were:

What issues does Bridge Project work directly with?
What are the larger issues that cause the need for Bridge Project to exist?
What surprised you today?
What is one question you left today's service with?

One issue that Bridge Project deals with, and continues to surprise me, is the issue of access to education. Most middle to upper class people don't even think about education: they typically grow up with access to decent education and the expectation that they will graduate from college. The amazing fact is less than 30% of the entire U.S. population has a college degree, and as Debbie stated from the Bridge Project, 90% of kids who live in housing projects don't even complete high school. Playing games with the kids that night definitely did not guarantee their graduation from high school, but it helped us see the true picture of youth and education and what one organization is doing to help kids succeed who need it the most. It is also encouraging to see the effect mentors have on those kids, and that something as simple as playing games with a kid on a consistent basis can help ensure a better future.

This week, for our second volunteer project, we met at Warren Village, which exists so that low-income, single parent families achieve sustainable personal and economic self-sufficiency. After a brief orientation about the organization, we then played with kids from infants to 10 year-olds while their mom or dad took a life-skills class, part of the requirement for the parent to live at Warren Village. Volunteers are needed every night, Monday-Thursday, to provide child-care so that the parents can attend these classes, which, in turn, gives them the skills and tools they need to become better parents, find better jobs, and become successful and self-sufficient to provide a better future for themselves and their children. Like The Bridge Project, it is difficult to see the impact a volunteer has in one night, but in the larger picture, we were able to see how another organization helps provide a better future for struggling families and children in Denver. The reflection questions for this project are:

What similarities/differences did you notice between Warren Village and The Bridge Project?

How does the mission of Warren Village help with sustainable community development?

What was your interaction with the kids like? What kind of impact do you think your interaction had? What kind of impact did it have on you?

Please post your thoughts and ideas regarding your experiences volunteering as well as the larger issues addressed by these organizations! For more information about the two organizations, you can visit their websites at www.du.edu/bridgeproject and www.warrenvillage.org

Looking forward to next week when we volunteer at The Spot, and learn more about teen homelessness in Denver.

With love, your co-Team Leader,
Carrie

I was taught that the world had a lot of problems; that I could struggle and change them; that intellectual and material gifts brought the privilege and responsibility of sharing with others less fortunate; and that service is the rent each of us pays for living, the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time or after you have reached your personal goals.
Marian Wright Edelman

Warren Village

Had a great time at Warren Village, tired out in the end, those kids kept me hopping! :-)
Good to see everyone there, I look forward to the next project.
~~ Hal

TeamWorks Children & Youth Begins!

Last Wednesday night TeamWorks 2008 began! After weeks of brainstorming, and planning we were ecstatic when Wednesday finally arrived. The group gathered together to meet one another and discuss future volunteer events. We were also graced with the presence of Cheryl Clark from the Youth Mentoring Collaborative who taught us how we (and the youth we are serving) can get the most out of our time when we only have a few hours at each of our volunteer opportunities.

In the coming weeks TeamWorks Session 1: Children and Youth, will be volunteering at Bridge Project, Warren Village, The Spot, and Excelsior Youth Center. The Team will be using this blog to share reflections and stories from their volunteer experiences.

It is our hope that in the coming weeks the group will share unique ideas and perspectives, and through these move to a new level of understanding and active citizenship. As Dr. Seuss would say "Oh, the places you'll go!"