Volunteership Blog

Final Post ):

The work that I did was important because I was helping out with cleaning up and keeping things neat and tidy. People should volunteer here because lots of kids from the community come here and they really need this place more then anything. Without this place where would they go? They need to be here, so helping this place out is important to the kids. It keeps them out of gangs and off drugs. It creates a safe haven for them which in returns creates safe alternatives for the kids. Some relationships I built were with some of the kids there like Alex. Every time I see him, I give him a dollar for the ice cream truck. Also Natasha and I seem to get along really good. She's really nice and cool. I can talk to her, and also she understands me cause she deals with teens like me all day. I think our relationship can only get better from here even after I'm no longer in high school. I will keep coming back because I know that this place is really important to a lot of kids. I love kids and I want to help out places that help them.

Something I will never forget is the day that I first met Alex. He was outside sitting by the basketball court and he was wearing black basketball shorts and a bright blue shirt. I saw him and asked if I could take my break with him. We got to talking and he told me that his mom and dad worked a lot and he spent almost all of his days at the recreational center. I was really sad cause he was dirty and he always went around asking for money. So now every time I see him I give him a dollar or I just take him to the truck and get him something. I will never forget him. He;s like my little brother, and I will always be here to make his day a little better. Even if all I do is buy him candy.

Last Day, SAME THING.

Today was my last day at the center. And just to keep the tradition alive I did my cleaning routine. Trash, wiping, sweeping, and brooming outside. It was a regular day and to wrap my day up, I did my final interview with Natasha for my interview. I'm kind of sad that today is my last day but I'm happy to say that I will be coming back. I need to go back and show Natasha my final video. But my time here I feel like I gave back to the cleanliness of the place. What I did there may not make a huge impact but I know I am giving back. Even the simplest trash pickup helps out.

HOURS COMPLETED: 3 hours 30 minute

HOURS LEFT: 0!

Working The Front Desk!

Today I spent my day working the front desk. I was answering phones, and checking out equipment to all the people there. When you try and check out a ball to play outside, your have to leave a picture ID so we know you'll come back. Some lady came in and gave me her car keys instead of her ID because she didn't have one. I thought it was the funniest thing ever. Any who, I had some parent call in about the little league pictures and I helped them with that. And I help out some parent that came in. I had a lot of fun doing it. This helps out the center because there is usually a girl who works there but when she isn't there I take over. This takes stress off Natasha thus allowing her to do more important things. I enjoy being here a lot. I love having my own desk sometimes even if it's only for a couple hours,

HOURS COMPLETED: 3

HOURS LEFT: 3 hours 30 minutes

Buying Puzzles and Toilet Cleaner?

I know what you’re thinking. Puzzles and toilet cleaner? Those two things have nothing in common. But when it comes to buying stuff that the recreational center needs, this is what I was told to purchase. Natasha gave me a list of stuff that she needed. Toilet cleaner, puzzles, soccer balls, basketballs, band aids, ice packs, and more. And so then I was given a list. This list had like 3 columns. One of them was a number column, and product description column and a quantity and price column. So the Band-Aids looked like this.

7654BJ63GYRW77G | Band-Aids Box | 50 count/ $5.00

She wanted each thing to be written on a piece of paper with all the information above. I guess all they need to do is send in the list and they send them the stuff. But the list she gave me was about 50 pages. And the text was about 12 times new roman font. It was so much stuff to go through. It took me a while to make a final list of the stuff needed. So on top of my usual clean up, this task was the hardest thing I had to do today. So to not mess up, I took my time. This benefits the center because all the stuff I made a list of was going to be ordered. Things like toilet paper are really important because I mean, who doesn’t need that? It helps them out because they need all that stuff and without it the center wouldn’t be able to run as smoothly as it does. I never thought that things like this were so time consuming. I guess that’s why I got stuck doing it.

HOURS COMPLETED: 3

HOURS LEFT: 6 hours 30 minutes

It Really Has Become A Habit.

I walk into the center, put my bag down, sign into the volunteer binder, grab the trash picker, a bucket, and walk to the bathrooms to pick up trash. Girls bathroom first, then boys bathroom, then the hallways, then the front of the center, the sides and the fields. Then walk back in, throw out the trash I picked up, and grab a broom. Broom the sidewalks and make sure the dirt goes back where it goes.

Broom, broom, broom.

Then walk back in, put the broom back and knock on Natasha’s door.

Knock, knock.

“You need me to do anything more today?”

“Did you pick up trash?”

“Yes.”

“Broom?”

“Yes.”

She usually sits back in her chair and looks up at the ceiling while she thinks. And she usually comes up with something. Today I made copies of handouts for the parents. I made 30 copies of the soccer sheets, 30 of the basketball, and 30 of the rest. Then staple them together and place them in the front so the parent can come see what they can sign up their kids for. Today was an easy day appose to the other ones. What I did today actually helped out Natasha, since she’s the one who usually makes copies. I did her a favor and I’m always happy to help her. This benefits the center and the parents since they need to know what they can sign up their kids for and the prices. Without the sheets they wouldn’t know. So this informs not only the parents but they potential parents who want to bring their kids to the center. That way if they want to know what the center offers all you have to say is “grab the sheets in the front office.” So I guess even the smallest thing helps out, since Natasha is pregnant and all. She gets tired so I’m always glad to help her out in specific.

HOURS COMPLETED: 2 hours 30 minutes

HOURS LEFT: 9 hours 30 minutes

Interview Time!!!

Today I got to do some interviewing for my video project in Doug’s class. Natasha said she really wanted to see it once it was done in case she wanted to use it in future reference. I got to talk to some little kids today on why they liked coming to the recreation center. Many of them said that they like coming here because they get to be with their friends and hang out in a safe place. They said that they rather be here then to be at home. I never really noticed it but there really are a lot of little kids running around. And I mean little like 2^nd grade-6^th grade kids. I think it’s really cool that I got to talk to them and see the type of stuff they said. Not a lot of people think about them and my interviewing them gave them all a chance to be heard. You really get to see their true colors when you place a video camera in front of them. A lot of them who are normally quiet looking came out and talked openly. I think what I did today will help the kids out because that way they can feel like someone does care about them and also it helps out the center in case they want to use it to show how cool the center is or to show what type of stuff they have to offer. I really do think that talking to the kids today gave some of them more confidence, and a way to come out and say why they like the center. I love the little kids here, they’re so cute!

HOURS COMPLETED: 2

HOURS LEFT: 12 hours

Exercise Balls Take FOREVER To Inflate.

So today the aerobics class started. And of course I got place with the responsibility of inflating the exercise balls. Two of them to be exact. I know this doesn’t sound like a tough job but when you’re trying to inflate two huge balls, with a little air pump it really did take like two hours. It was the smallest air pump I had ever seen and the balls had to be inflated to a certain size. I think it was 65 inches in circumference. And every time we checked we were barley in the 40’s. Finally we finished inflating them. And they were all surprised that we did. They said they didn’t think it was possible with the little air pump. But we finished them right in time for the class. We even got free soda for doing a good job. What I did today contributed to the center because we inflated the balls for the class. And this class is for anyone in the community. So we did the center and the community a favor. Now they can exercise and get there fitness on. The classes at the center help everyone, so what we did today was really helpful to them.