Karaoke!

Probably the highlight of this week was spending some quality time with my coworkers outside of the Boys and Girls Club!  Sarah, Scott and Lauren are all avid Glee fans and we have all been talking about the idea of having a Glee karaoke night for quite a while.  And this week it happened!  We all got together after work on Tuesday and went to Sarah’s house, ordered a pizza, watched an episode and then jammed for hours into the night!

This is just another aspect of my Summer of Service and my community engagement in general that I did not expect.  I anticipated becoming close with the kids and building relationships with them, but I never really thought about building friendships with the other counselors as well.  And those friendships are probably the strongest ones I have made throughout the entire summer!  I just get along with this staff really well, including our supervisor, and we all plan to do something together again next week before we finish up our term.

Also, Scott and I are going head-to-head against Lauren at the Talent Show next Friday.  It will be on my last afternoon at the Boys and Girls Club and we were going hardcore to seal this victory.  A bunch of the kids are participating too, and Tenicia even asked me to rap the Juicy J. section of Katy Perry’s Dark Horse.  Scott and I have written a very impressive 13 song medley composed of favorites amongst the kids.  The rules state that the kids will decide the winner amongst the participating adults, and the adults will decide the winner amongst the participating kids, so we have to appeal to our audience!  Other talent show acts include Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Problem, Roar, Let it Go, and some dancing.  I am very pumped.

Thankfully I’ve gotten the chance to move around from the arts and crafts station for a little while, being assigned to help run sports usually once or twice a week.  Although I love arts and crafts and the interest level in it has been growing rapidly, it just requires a lot of extra set-up and clean-up time which can be frustrating.  And I feel like the kids are continuing to test their limits this week, especially since a groundskeeper at the lake we go to has decided to “join the staff” and run activities as a counselor.  He has not training, no plans, no respect for the curriculum we have set aside, and just takes a couple kids to do his own activity that is sometimes dangerous.  He’s teaching 7-year-olds how to throw cards at each other and balance bats and chairs on their heads.  It’s ridiculous sometimes!

It’s absolutely all worthwhile though and I cannot get enough of some of these kids.  Ak’tavia, Camari, Cincear, Kit Kat, Donavan – they are all such amazing kids that really make me realize how much of an impact I want to have with the Community Partnership for Children when I get back to Florida.  Working with kids and spending a lot of time with them can yield some really incredible experiences and I appreciate it every day.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Summer camp is an absolute blast!  I’m going to figure out how to post pictures on here because I’ve got a ton and I feel like I have a much better understanding of other’s people’s Summers of Service because they post pictures.  Expect some pics.

I apologize in advance that this blog may be a little more negative than usual, but continue to keep in mind that I am still loving camp and these kids are sooo much fun and soooo cute.

Things are starting to change a little as everyone (kids and staff) get more comfortable.  The kids seem to be testing their limits a little bit more, especially those in my group, the Blue Barricudas.  Since they’re the youngest, I understand why they can be more difficult with listening and paying attention, but some are just proving to be troublesome children.  Trevon and James, in particular, are very content with disobeying counselor directions and will often run as far from where we want them to be as possible.  It’s manageable, but strenuous work to keep up with them and keep them safe.  On the older side, the kids in the Red Jaguar group are at a pre-teen age where they want to be independent and show how cool it is to not listen.  The oldest camper, Raymond, was announced to be a Counselor-in-Training on the first day, but has since lost that opportunity as he often disobeys and does not set a good example for the other children.

There have also been a few issues on the staff side.  One full-time staff member named Porsha has been clearly not pulling her weight around camp and has been causing some discourse amongst the employees.  She even left during a camp day to go take a nap instead of running an activity!  And although many of the staff complained to our supervisor about her lack of engagement, she never seemed to receive much repercussion.  However, at the end of this week, she was fired from the staff.  Although we all felt bad for her, it was a nice change as it unified the counselors again.  Another part-time staff member named Maurice was also let go this week, and it does make us a little worried about being understaffed, but we have Summer Youth Employment Workers and regular volunteers as well to help ease the loss.

On a lighter note, this week’s theme at camp was “International Week”!  To celebrate this, Thursday and Friday arts and crafts activities were dedicated to making a piñata filled with five bags of candy!  The kids loved making it and it was probably their favorite activity from the whole week!

Also, before I forget, Sarah and I stayed behind from going up to the camp on Wednesday of this week to work on a Boys and Girls Club Survival Guide of useful information for next year’s Summer Service Scholars.  It was sad to lose a day at the camp, but it was a nice change of pace.  Only 2 weeks left!

Siena week 8

So this week was a little less than ideal. On Monday, one of our teens apparently threw such a hissy fit that the site supervisor allowed him to switch to the dance focus group half way through the camp. This made no sense to us since he has built up quite a knowledge base of garden information and would have to learn in a few days the dance that the other group has been working on for weeks. So now we are down to working with one teen. To make things even more spectacular (feel the sarcasm) our one remaining teen informed us that she can't be there on the day of the open house. So we get to deal with that. That day we also got the bright idea to take a field trip the next day. We would take our teen to see the two other major community gardens in the area as well as the state museum. She called home to get permission and everything was set. After we made all the plans and got all the permissions, we realized that Tony Opalka was coming to speak the next day. So the next day we picked up Fatmata at her house and went on our merry way. Our first stop was Radix, a community garden with plants, bees, chickens, pigeons, ducks, rabbits and fish. We didn't get to see all of those things ( I wanted to see the bees) but it was still a cool thing to see. After that we had some time to kill before our tour of the other community garden that we planned to tour so we went to the NY state museum. It was quite cool but parking was the worst. . They had all kinds of exhibits that created like a timeline of New York History. They had stuff on everything from Native American Tribes and wildlife all the way up through 9/11/01 with culture, industry and some entertainment throughout the years. They even had a Sesame Street reel going in one exhibit. Our teen saw a fake fire in the replica Native American house and thought it was real. I bet the museum people would have been so proud of their fake fire making skills if they had heard that. We were going to ride the old fashioned Carousel but we had to leave before the next ride. So we went to the other garden and did our tour there. The girl who gave us the tour was another Summer Service Scholar who I only ever see in class. In class she always looks like she has given up on the world so I was pleasantly surprised when she gave us a very thorough and knowledgeable tour of the gardens that was far more extensive than the one we got when we went the first time. After that tour we took Fatmata home early and it was a good day.   

So Wednesday came around and we planned to make pressed flower book marks but outdoor weather conditions were being uncooperative so we decided that we would take Fatmata to Siena the next day to work indoors on that project. Instead we decided to paint our garden stand. We painted it red and white and wrote on the front of it to advertise our produce. I tried to wash the brushes in our tiny foot pump sink but just ended up getting red paint all over the place. The brushes still got thrown away so that was a little frustrating. Also later I would scrub the paint off the walls because I made the mess and I felt like I should. Since we painted the stand that day we didn't sell vegetables. 

On Thursday we made a pit stop at the ACE Office before we went to our site. They were making pizzas and said something about basil. We were like "you know who has SO MUCH BASIL? Us. So when we went to our site to get Fatmata and the flowers that we had left under a pile of bricks overnight, we picked some basil and brought it back to the ACE people. We also introduced them to Fatmata. After that we gave Fatmata a short driving tour of Siena and then went to the library and worked on making bookmarks for the rest of the day. We made quite a few then had to race back to our site for the end of the day debrief. Another interesting day. 

On the last day of the week, we were back at the site doing normal stuff. Since it was a Friday we set up the vegetable stand. At this point we were selling bouquets as well as produce. A young neighborhood kid, probably around 15 or 16, came by on his bike and we told him about our products. To our surprise he bought a bouquet of flowers. We asked him who they were for and he said they were for his mother. Fatmata continued to practice her plant knowledge and garden tour giving skills. It was one of our best weeks by far. 

And sooooo yeah... Bye. 

Siena week 7

With the arrival of week 7 we are entering the 2nd week of our program/camp. The teens in my focus group seem to be doing well. They are learning quite a bit about the garden and the history of the site. Elijah still has trouble keeping his pants up but Fatmata is no trouble and is actually quite enjoyable to work with. On Monday(I thinnk) I went to the main branch of the Albany public library and met with Tony Opalka, the Albany city historian. He agreed to come speak to the teens about the history of Arbor Hill the following week. Arbor Hill is the name of the neighborhood that I am working in. But this week we had a different Tony come speak. On Wednesday, Tony Rivera came to speak to the teens. He works in the ACE office (Siena's CCE) and had a difficult past so we thought it would be cool for the teens to hear his success story and see that your past doesn't have to affect your future. Our teens will be giving garden tours as their part of the open house at the end of the camp and their knowledge of the gardens and the plants in them is growing rapidly. We have been using games to help them learn how to identify plants and remember facts about them. Some games have gone better than others. They said the scavenger hunt was cruel torture, which is just ridiculous. The garden stand went well this week. Word got out to people outside the neighborhood about what we were doing so we actually had some sales this week. We made about $30ish in produce sales. This week is also made more interesting by the presence of another camp on our properties. The Hartgen Archaeological group is holding their archaeology summer camp at our site. So there are like 40 kids digging very precise, measured square holes and it seems like they might be uncovering some pretty cool stuff. Also their fearless leader bought some stuff from the garden. But that sale was the source of our first (and last) real blunder in selling veggies. The man ordered thyme and we gave him Pistou Basil instead because it was labeled as thyme in a different part of the garden and we were gardening newbies. The next day (Thursday) one of our master gardeners came to work with us and told us that is was in fact basil and not thyme. She also showed us how to make bouquets of flowers from the garden and we will be selling those in addition to the produce. So yay more money I guess. We have a few extra vases lying around so we are using those. That first day we made bouquets one of the other focus group leaders bought one of our teens first attempts for his wife so that was neat. Hopefully they will be a popular item with the general public as well. On Friday the Hartgen people were back so we gave their leader guy his correct order of herbs free of charge. Their camp was also having an open house that day so we made some good sales. We were able to add green beans to our list of veggies to sell and people liked them a lot. Overall it was quite the productive week.

Peace out.

Week 7 - And now it's time to say goodbye

So this was my last week with Jasmin before I headed home to spend time with my family. We basically did the same thing this week that we did last week. She is still having trouble counting to 100. Whenever a number ends in 9, she doesn't know which one comes next so that is something that we'll have to work on during the school year. Her reading has increased tremendously over the summer and I am so proud of her. She read 55 books. As I was getting ready to leave, she told me that she did not want me to leave because I am part of her family and she will miss me even though it's for a short time. I'm just glad that I decided to talk to her mom that one morning in November.

SOS 9

This week has been a very interesting; a new program manager was hired for the FRC in Holy Hill and been in triaging at my site this week. His name is Larry, as Larry learned new things about FRC I learn new things as well. Our contact list of often used numbers has been a source of hate for the past 4 weeks so I finally got the motivation to reorganize the list. When volunteers work in the office, hopefully, they would able to direct callers to other agencies who will be able to help. I was told a few weeks back that will be trained on HMIS this week. The training was held at the Volusia/Flagler County Coalition for the Homeless, which was my first time I been there. It was cool to see other groups in the county like the Neighborhood Center, Haven House, and the Star family Shelter, and the Salvation Army are different agencies all work with the Coalition to end homeless in the area. HMIS is a data base that the federal government uses to track homeless services, organization, stats, and people around the country. The data base is confusing and very technical and not user-friendly. The training overall went well, but I wanted to take nap after wards because my brain hurt from all the information. HMIS is very important tool, because this is how the Coalition receives money for the government fund social programs that help end homeless and built better communities. I am starting to get the feeling that I am going to be spending a lot more time in front of a computer. 

SOS 8

Flexibility, the word flexibility, has been the shadow that has followed me the whole summer, and some situations have left me confused. At FRC my title is somewhat ambiguous, the volunteer work I do very base on what needs to be done.  If paperwork needs to be filed, I will file paperwork.  If the handyman needs with maintenance, I will help with maintenance. All these different come with different skills that need to do the task well. When I mentoring or tutoring the skills that I use is different, but I can say by learning how to be flexibility this summer I can face the challenges I encounter in different ways. This week ran smoothly, but I think the highlight of my week was when my boss bought me lunch. I was taught to never turndown gifts and food falls under gifts, so if it is offered I won’t say no.  These last few weeks we have been working hard to fill the empty units, and the hardest about this process is to cross people off the list that meet the requirement for the program. These are a few requirements: live in Volusia County for at least six months, have to have children and have minor to criminal violations in the past three years, work at least 30 hours or in the process of looking for a job, and finally be homeless.  I am amazed that most people on the waiting less are only able to meet one or two of the requirements to get into FRC. This process has given me a different outlook on the human condition and the world. They seem so simple but so hard to maintain and follow.  

SOS 7

One of my biggest fears is not being able to help everyone that comes in FRC or people that I encounter on a daily basis. There have been many times since I started Bonner this pressing topic has come up, and I have always been happy with not helping everyone. My new role at FRC the idea has come back in a different way. At the start of the week, a woman called and told me that she is going to be kicked out of her grandmother’s house in the coming weeks. She told me that she had children and was jobless, but I said that demands for our program are high and I could not help her at that time. The only thing I could do was to put her on our waiting list and referred her to other agencies in the county. Most people that I encounter at FRC are at their lowest moments in life. Some are there due to poor decision making and others are at their lowest moments because life just sucked the marrow from their bones. I have to tell myself that I can only do what I can do and I am fine with that. The lady that called at the start of the week will not be the last person that calls with a similar problem. This approach has led me to bigger questions and views: First, if we can’t help everyone who will be the next kind person to step up to help others? Second, if we can’t help the one with the greatest need; how does humankind expect to bring peace and justice to our communities? 

YMCA SOS Week 6

Hello my fellow Bonners! Sorry I am writing about my 6th week of camp so late, it has been really busy here at the Y! For the week of the 14th-18th of July, we had quite a week! As usual I worked with my preschoolers on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the Learning and Growing camp! They learned about community helpers such as firefighters, policemen, doctors and dentists! We also had a superhero day at the end of the week in which the kids got to dress up as their favorite super hero! Lots of kids chose Spider-Man which was so cute! I also brought in chocolate chip cookies from Publix as a special treat for them which they adored!  For Adventure Camp, I worked mainly with the 5, 6-7 year olds making different crafts with them and of course their favorite part of camp--2 hour swim time! On Friday, we did a seperate theme for dress up day with 5-7 year olds which was decades day. Most of the kids dressed up from the 80's, including myself! For our Wednesday field trip, we went to a historical museum called Heritage Village and on Tuesday I led the field trip for the teens to the Tampa International Airport! We took a special tour of the firehouse there and the special access areas of the runway via bus! They really did enjoy learnig more about public transportation and travel in general. I also officially finished my SOS hours as of this week, but I love the my experience at the Y so much, I am still going to keep going until I leave for Stetson! These kids really have impacted my life in such a great way and I have created a strong bond with them and the counselors! It is like we are a family!
Well I better stop before I write a novel, but I hope everyone else's SOS's are wrapping up nicely! :)

"The REAL Rainbow Child Care Site Visit"

I have 5 site visits scheduled this week, and I'm ready to go!

The funniest one was definitely Rainbow Child Care Center visit... well, technically visits. Heather and I met with someone from the center on Monday, only it wasn't at the center and she ended up talking with us for quite some time about Heather's life. Poor Heather! I tried my best to redirect the conversation, but to no avail. At the end, she called someone else from the center and scheduled a meeting for us to meet with them (and at the center, thankfully). Actually going out to the site is important for liability and capacity building purposes. Simply put: this site visit has definitely been the most interesting so far. Despite the eccentricity of our encounter, she was happy to hear about the workshops we have planned though, and hopes to strengthen her organizational and social media skills. I know she's very interested in grant writing and community-based research for the center as well!

We also visited the University Center East, which is a not-for-profit facility right on New York that provides short or long-term care and rehabilitation for those who need it. It's a smaller facility that can hold about 53 residents. The only nursing homes that I've ever had experience in were much bigger and looked like a hotel, so this site visit in particular has really stuck with me. Dee,the program coordinator, was happy to give us a tour, and was also well prepared to discuss what she needed in regards to volunteers! Since it is a smaller, not too glamorous facility, she was explaining that they are always in need of volunteers. Many of the residents will spend the rest of their lives at the center, and they can't leave the premises, so contact with the outside community is something that the residents deeply appreciate. I'm excited to work with them in the future, because they definitely have a lot of needs that aren't being met.

Week 6- Panda, Marco’s Evaluation, and Shank’s Reaction to Thunderstorms

This week we had a new dog named Panda come in. Panda is a super energetic but sweet, short-haired, 8 month old border collie. This pup will definitely not be here long. I am sure he will find a home shortly. Panda is picking tricks up very quickly. He already knows how to sit and drop (lay down) and that was only in a day. He loves to give kisses and will knock you down trying to give them to you.

Marco passed his evaluation today. He performed all of his skills well. Even with a few distractions, Marco completed all tasks extremely well. I have never been so proud of him. The search for a well-fit client has begun. Marco will also be spending a week with Debbie in order to make sure that everything in-house is up to par. I will be taking a golden retriever, named Mr. Dibs, for that week.

This week’s funny puppy story is from Shank:

“I don’t know about this (thundering). Maybe I can go outside real quickly. Oh no (lightning strikes). I think I’ll just stay in here and stare at the wall of my crate. It’s okay, Abby. I don’t even need to go. You know, it’s funny. I know I haven’t been out in a few hours but I suddenly have no urge to go to the bathroom. Ya, I’ll be fine. You go on ahead. No, I’m not scared. I just don’t need to go to the bathroom.”

Week 5- Bizz, Marco’s great achievement, and Pandy’s Story.

This week we had to put down one of our old dogs down. Bizz was a 13 year old border collie who belonged to Jerri, owner of Southeast Border Collie Rescue, and then to Jan, friend of Jerri, for the past 3 years. She was full of life and very sweet. One morning Ej, manager of Border Collie Rescue, found Bizz laying on the ground, crawling (attempting to walk), and knew she needed to go to the vet hospital. After a visit with the vet, they found that Bizz suffered from a seizure in the middle of the night. They then chose to send her over the rainbow road.

Marco and I have been hard at work perfecting his skills. For the past 9 months this puppy has lived with me and we have grown together. He has taught me patience and persistence and I have taught him skills that he will use to help a very special person in need. This week, I have been told that Marco’s evaluation will be taking place soon. All of our hard work will be tested. I am both excited and saddened to see our time slowly end. I will make sure to cherish these last few months that I have with him. I will keep everyone updated in next week’s blog.

This week’s puppy story is from Pandy:

“When is it my turn? Let me out!!! I wanna go out! Don’t you walk away from me! I’m still in here! You forgot about me! Ok ok ok…I’ll be quiet. Don’t go! Yes! OK, let’s GO!!!! Come on, you are soooo slow. Ok, I’ m going to go this way…no this way…no this way. Abby! You are here…with me! I must jump on you!!!!! Ok, I won’t jump on you, geez. She is touchy… Wow, I am thirstyyy. This. Water. Is. The. Best. EVER. Ok, I’ll go back in. Yes, I am content…ah. NO, MY TURN! I’m hungry!”

Hank, Misty, and Cowboy

This week has been slightly sad. Hank was sent back to the rescue because of some adjustment problems. Hank seemed to be getting too protective of the little girl. Although, neither Hank or the little girl understand why they are being separated, we believe that it is what is best. Hank is a bit depressed; he spends a lot of time laying in his crate (hank used to be the loudest dog in the kennel room because he was always up and barking).

On a better note, a new border collie came in this week, named Misty. I call Misty, my little fox. She is small and has long legs. She jogs around in the yard and loves attention. She is up for adoption and will definitely make a good family dog.

This week's doggy diary is from Cowboy's perspective:

"Good morning. Ugh, my legs are so sore. Laying down on my bony legs is tough. Ok, here we go. Up...ugh. Here comes Abby. Looks like it's our turn Raven (the other old dog at the rescue). Come on old girl. We are going this way. Time to get some exercise. oh, actually, Abby, come pet me. Aw, thank you. Don't go, I like the attention. Oh well, here we go. Wow, this yard smells like so many other dogs. Ok, I'm getting tired. Time for some water. Raven, you get over here too. Get a drink. Good girl. Ok, Abby is calling us, let's go Raven. Raven, we are going this way, follow me now."

Rocky, Messy crates, and Nicky

Well, unfortunately we found out this week that Rocky is heart worm positive. We are currently treating him; however, he had to drop out of the service dog training program. He will be put up for adoption.

This week has been a bit of a bummer considering that there is a virus going around causing all of the dogs to mess in their crates. Each crate was getting cleaned everyday or even twice a day. This also meant that dogs were getting bathed almost every day.

In good news, Nicky was adopted by a family. He has transitioned very well and loves having his own family. Hank went to a family with a little girl. She has just fallen in love with him and he is loving her right back.
It always makes me so happy when dogs get adopted.

New Puppies and Skyler

This week three ten week old puppies arrived at our rescue. We were told that they were put in a box together and thrown out on the side of the street from a moving vehicle. Since we didn't know if they had names, EJ (Border Collie Rescue Manager), Jerry (trainer), and myself named all three of them. Kim, Kate, and Cameron. Kim was the dominant one of the litter and was always beating up on her sister. Kate chewed on everything and hated her crate. Cameron was a very lazy puppy that wanted to sleep and cuddle...he also hated his crate with a fiery passion.

The three puppies were not here long. Kim was adopted within a week, Kate within 2 weeks, and finally little Cameron within 3 weeks (to Josh, one of our volunteers).

This week Skyler was adopted. Before the family came to see her, Skyler needed a bath. This is her side of the story:

"Good morning my fellow border collies. PANDY, stop barking in my ear or I will let out the loudest growl I can. WAIT! What is that noise!?! It is the human...ok ok ok. Please don't touch me... Ok, the crate is opened. Back away from the crate slowly human, named Abby. WAIT! What is that smell!?! The Abbyhuman has something delicious in her hand (hot dog). But how do I get to it??? Ok, I can do this. Slowly...why does she keep backing up??? She tricked me! The door is closed, can't get back in...good hot dog though...but how can I get back inside. Oh well, I guess water sounds pretty good. Mmmm, it's sooo goood. Also, my back feels so good, I love it when the abbyhuman massages me...ahhh. WAIT! She is touching me! She put a leash on me! Where is she taking me?? Oh no, nope! Not the tub again. I'LL KEEP THE FLEAS ALONG WITH MY DIGNITY!!! Oh no! There is the joshhuman. I'm in the air, I'm in the AIR, I'M IN THE AIR, PUT ME DOWN! Ok, I'm in the tub...WAIT! No, I'm in the tub!!!! Not the water. There goes the dignity...Jerks, I do not look like a drowned rat. I look like the dog that wants to murder you in your sleep. What are you putting on me? Oooh, I kinda like the massage though. aaaaand...the water is back. Ok, here comes the towel, almost done. UGH! What is that! Scary noise, so much wind. Maybe if I don't move it will go away. Nope...humans, I'm dry. I no longer am in need of the tornado machine. Thank God...all done... Actually, I feel so much better. Thanks. You humans are the best. I'm gunna go poop and then roll around in it...because I'm weird and like doing that."

The Adventures of Nell, new dogs, and learning the routine.

This week I learned the summer routine. It begins with a busy morning; dogs go out, food goes into bowls, dogs come in, and crates need cleaned. The second time the dogs go out, we check to see which dogs need baths. The third rotation is primarily time for the dogs to play and get trained... a bit more relaxed than trying to do four things at once.

We had two new dogs come in this week. Rocky and Skyler were two beautiful border collie mixes that came from a kill shelter and were on death row. Unfortunately, the two dogs were flea infested and Skyler was a bit too timid, border lining on fear. Rocky was put into the Classic Service Dog Network program and Skyler was put up for adoption.

This weeks "get to know a doggy" post is about Nell, one of the dogs permanently staying at Border Collie Rescue. Nell is a very energetic border collie that has had two litters of puppies. She loves to play with balls, Frisbees, and cats. A few days ago she had an encounter with a one-eyed cat named Socks. If I could see what was going on in her head during this situation, it would look something like this:

"Yay! Abby, you're here, you're here, you're here! I get to go out, like, outside! Open the door, open the door, ooh, a tail (chases own tail until I open the door). Yes! I'm free! Here I come fence...(jumps fence). And...Abby is calling me, turn around, turn around, faster...and that was a circle...and I almost tripped...OMG...(quickly stops in tracks). We meet again...CATTT (slowly begins stalking the cat). Dum Dum Dum Dum Dum (Nell's theme song). And...I...Gotchya! Wow...ok...so your a bit faster than I gave you credit for. I won't make that mistake again (begins stalking slowly). You are my nemesis. I will never forget how you dirty the ground I prance upon...OHMYGOD ABBYHASFOOD!!!!

Adventure time with Kevin!

This week I'm off to Halifax Health Hospice! This visit is an important one, mainly because I was able to schedule to have the outreach coordinator from each center meet over at the main care center in Port Orange. Unfortunately, Heather wasn't able to be in the office this week at the last minute. Day of the site visit, I was in the office. I noticed that Savannah wasn't back from her meeting, and I popped into Kevin's office. He informed me that he'd be heading over with Savannah and I as soon as she got back from her meeting, which was running a bit longer than expected. The site visit was at 2, and as 1:30 approached, I asked Kevin if we were going to head out soon, because the main care center is in Port Orange. Not realizing that Kevin hadn't seen the address on the calendar invite, he had been thinking that we were just going to the West Volusia center in Orange City...

Oopsie.

No problem though! I got in contact with the center, let them know that we'd be... you know, a few minutes late... Usually, Heather or Savannah are able to provide a folder with more information, but Kevin and I were only able to access the manual. We got this! And with that, Kevin and I headed out to Port Orange! I was a bit nervous because Savannah and Heather have been leading the visits in regards to getting the ball rolling, but Kevin put his confidence in me and had me take the lead on this one. Presenting in front of 5 people was pretty nerve-wracking, but it went really well! We brought up some great ideas, like involving the Stetson Student Veterans Organization with their veteran program. They also need some immediate help to prepare for their big seasonal events, so if you're interested in some extra volunteer work before the semester begins, let me know!

First site visits!

Armed with the Community Partner Manual, a notepad and a smile, off to the Early Learning Coalition we go! Myself, along with Heather and Savannah, made our way to their location (which is right across from Rodeo Whip, but alas, I did not get any ice cream). We met with the Outreach Manager, Allison Miller. She was excited to hear about what the CCE could do for the office! She was extremely interested in developing a marketing or digital arts internship so that their marketing materials could be redone. It was surprising to realize that she didn't know that our office was available to help her market events and recruit volunteers for the Early Learning Coalition. We shared calendars, gave her some information about capacity building, and then she and Savannah couldn't resist discussing their babies (only a few months apart) before we headed out!
Bonus: Here's a FUN upcoming event that they need volunteers for! It's the morning of September 6th, and I'll have it up on OrgSync soon.

We also had a site visit with The House Next Door. They actually had a great idea to help assist with background checks, something that deters quite a few students from getting out there and volunteering. They are looking to partner with the Police Department to see if they could set up background checks at one of the community partner fairs that we have on campus. If that were to work out, that would be an amazing step to integrating community engagement into our incoming students right from the start.

Week 6

This week consisted of cranking building preparation, community outreach, and program finalization into high gear. On Monday, our youth worker orientation was scheduled. I was surprised to see that the morning shift's compliment of workers arrived on time, considering the lack of forewarning we gave them. The majority of the counselors are in the 16-18 age range, with a few of them having already graduated high school. Two of them are going to the same college in the fall, one of these having graduated second in his class and another is working towards enlisting in the navy. I say all of that to say this: I have disappointed by their maturity levels so far. The counselors spent most of this week being rude, attempting to find the laziest and most disruptive way to disobey my directives as their supervisor, and making crude remarks about Maura and myself behind our backs.

These teens are only working four hour shifts, yet they seem to find these unbearable and work very hard to make things move as slowly as possible while attempting to avoid even the simplest of tasks. The aforementioned salutatorian has openly explained his own irritating behavior, stating that "when we're in school we're in school; when we're in the hood we're in the hood." This duplicitous nature seems to be at the root of a few of the issues I have experienced thus far with the counselors, who appear to believe their familiarity with the environment surrounding AUMS grants them free reign to do as they please when working for me. I will not waste time detailing the various problems that have arisen, but I have spoken to Elaina my supervisor about them after several attempts to get through to the workers themselves. I can only hope the counselors do not act this way next week when the actual camp starts and we are hosting children.

On the technical front, this week we finished cleaning the originally disgusting secondary program room, and painted it a light red afterwards to high its blemishes. The room is now furnished and rather inviting to the whims of young boys and girls.I spent a few hours swinging a sledgehammer into rotten wooden tables in the hopes of making our backyard into a feasible play area for the campers, but it appears as though we will not be receiving necessary mulch to complete the process, rendering this work useless.

Week 5

This week, Maura and myself have been working on promoting the camp, which was originally planned to start next week. Elaina has told us that, due to various factors including her extensive absences prior to our arrival to deal with a death in her family and her current pregnancy, the usual work she would have already done on outreach and establishing camp enrollment has been neglected. Due to this, we have decided not to hold the first week of camp, seeing as there would be no campers to hold in it.

Maura and I spent several afternoons during this week taking flyers promoting the camp to the areas surrounding our location and giving them to families, shops, and simply posting them around in hopes of increasing awareness. While Elaina and Peter do not seem very concerned about this, Maura shares my concern for this major setback. Losing an entire fifth of our program does not seem like a simple change to us.

At this point, we have also been experiencing issues with the city of Albany itself. The city's youth employment program will be providing us with high school age camp counselors to mentor, supervise, and engage with our eventual campers. These counselors will start at their positions next week, yet, as of the fourth of July holiday, we have not been able to get our hands on a list of their names. Without any information on these teens whatsoever, we can only hope they will know to arrive on time Monday for our orientation program.

Albany's meal program for children has also proven to be a hindrance rather than helping hand. The program, which promises to provide breakfast and lunch for summer programs hosting Albany's children, required we attend an entirely banal hour training, during which they repeatedly warned of not to make simple mistakes such as leaving milk out lest we should have our entire program shut down by the city government. It was utterly ridiculous and became a laughing stock for those of us at AUMS.

Week 4

This week was marked by Larry's departure from the Siena Summer Service Scholars program and AUMS, the site we were filling the same capacity within. For personal reasons, Larry has decided to return to Florida and complete his Summer of Service there. I wish he could have stood on with me here in Albany, but I understand his need to leave the program early and hope he can resolve the issues he was facing.

With Larry gone, the tasks previously assigned to the both of us fall upon my fellow Summer Service Scholar Maura, who is acting as our supervisor Elaina's assistant, and myself. I am not worried about this change, as much of our work has been accomplished prior to Larry's exit and the I can certainly accomplish the rest. Most of the curriculum for the camp was already completed and I will have help completing our preparation of the building.

On a daily basis, I arrive at AUMS at 9 am along with Maura and Cari, who works in the garden. We have been fitted to our own room in the office level of the building and settle in each morning.  Elaina typically checks in on us within the hour, leading to a forty-five minute discussion of the day's tasks and what has been taken care of so far. She is often joined by Peter Fisch, the executive director of AUMS. The two of them discuss possible opportunities and try to make sure we have access to all of the materials and personnel we require to build the program. After this, we are left to our own devices for most of the day, working on whatever was discussed in the morning meeting. It can be tedious work, but we make it manageable by bouncing ideas off of each other, joking and playing music to keep spirits high. When the day has come to a close, Maura typically drives me back to Siena's campus where I am staying.

Our Wednesday night classes with the rest of the Summer Scholars have been based on a different topic each week, making it slightly difficult to get a read on them. We have not had nearly as much emphasis on sociological ideas as originally expected. Instead, Dr. Kassel, our supervisor, uses the meetings to check in us and go over ways to deal with problems common to working with non profits. It has a tendency to run somewhat on the boring side, but there is plenty of useful information and opportunity for discussion throughout.

Week 3-Siena Summer Service Scholars

During Week 3, Larry and I began to assess the program areas at AUMS to see what we were working with, and what needed working on. The areas are upstairs in the building and consist of three separate locations. A gym with a basketball court and a large seating section dominates the floor. On the opposite side, two rooms are what our supervisor Elaina calls her main and secondary program rooms. The main program room is fairly large, with multiple round tables in the center surrounded by counters topped by crates full of materials for arts and crafts, board games, sporting equipment, books, and other miscellany. 

Unfortunately, the secondary room is a complete wreck. About half the size of its counterpart, this room is full of random junk. It appears that in the time since the last summer's camp, the occupants of various AUMS's building took to storing their unwanted stuff in this room. It now holds a collection of smashed computers, desolate televisions, a decrepit grill, wood, broken window screens and other assorted trash. On one of its walls has been ruined with large brown stains that resemble projectile vomit. 

Elaina decided that Larry and myself, while developing the theme weeks for the camp in July, should fix this room and the rest of the area to prepare it for children. The two of us removed the noted trash from and discovered a fairly dirty window air conditioning unit that we were instructed to keep for usage during the camp because the second floor of the building has no cooling systems. 

With this accomplished, Larry and myself spent the rest of our week working on curriculum and occasionally helping another Summer Service Scholar, Cari, with the garden she and an Americorp Vista are implementing in a nearby space owned by AUMS. Overall, things are somewhat slow without any implementation for a few more weeks, but we are trying to stay motivated.

 

Week 5:

This was the week of sickness. We had two little boys get sick and have to go home and many other children complaining of headaches and stomach aches. It was one little boys birthday, as he was passing out the cookies he brought in to celebrate he looks at us and says I have to leave then proceeds to run to the sink to get sick. It was so sad and probably not the best way to spend your 5th birthday. Then his mother’s phone was out of service and all of his emergency contacts were out of state. So Jessica and I went to the address listed…..it was the wrong house and I’m really glad no one answered. So we got the correct address finally and went to the house. It was in an area that had a lot of no trespassing signs and run down homes. We knocked on the door for about 5 minutes but there was not answer. We knew she was there though because her car was there and we could hear the TV. Then this guy pulled up to the house, which kinda scared us, and he was able to knock loud enough for the mother to hear it. The mom did come get the little boy but it was quite an adventure trying to track her down.

On a more positive note, the children who have in the past had a very difficult time making friends and interacting with the other children are finally warming up. One of our little boys who basically stood still and stared at us all day is now smiling and running around. It is so nice to see his personality coming through! J

Also this week was very exciting because the Stetson Bonner Scholar Summer Camp started yay! We have 5 wonderful high school students from different parts of Florida and one from Texas.  The students have a Stetson class in the morning and in the afternoons they visit different sights in the area and do service. This week they have been to the Neighborhood Center, Boarder Collie Rescue, an assisted living facility, and a conservation/state park. At night we get to eat dinner with them and do reflections as well as some fun things. The Disney Seen-It game is very popular with them and it’s nice to get to just chillax some nights and watch movies. On Thursday we took them to a Daytona Cubs game which was a new experience for me. Friday we went to Deland’s Tropical Nights and got to walk around down town. During the weekend we were able to go to Islands of Adventure which was a blast and I receive a Harry Potter education. We spent Sunday at DeLeon Springs canoeing, kayaking, or paddle boating in my case as well as swimming in the spring. It was the perfect thing to do on such a hot day.  I have really enjoyed getting to know each of these students this week and I’m so glad we have a one more week to spend with them. (Hopefully they will decide to come to Stetson J )

More pictures to come :) 

Josh's SOS #6

Week 6

After dealing with Bizz passing away, it was great to have a new dog come in, especially the little guy we got this week. His name is Panda, he is a short haired border collie. He's about 8-9 months old and he is full of energy, he can run for days non stop. It gets a bit overwhelming sometimes, he can sometimes get a bit aggressive, but nontheless he is very sweet, he means no harm. 

This week as for training, I continued my traning Raider. He is now almost about 4 months and he continues to look more like a stud everyday, he is doing it all. From jumping to speeding through everything, he does most things better than dogs five times his age. Not only is he doing great in agility, his obedience is at the same level. He already knows sit, drop, paw, high five, hug (very cute), speak, jump, spin and stay. He is a quick learner and I'm excited to keep watching him grow. I did not train any service on this week, as they are on the process of finding a service dog for me to train. So... until next time.

Josh's SOS #5

Week 5

  This week was an unusual one for myself. This week I had to deal with the sadness of putting a dog down. Bizz, a 13 year old border collie who belonged to Jerri Carter, owner of the rescue. Jerri had Bizz for a long time, I personally only got to see her every now and then, she was a great dog, i could tell. Bizz was living with a friend of Jerri's, Jan. Everything seemed fine with her until one morning she was found on the ground unable to walk or eat. That's when the decision was made that for her own well being, we had to put her down.  Her suffering from seizures got the best of her on this one. She will be remembered.

As the week continued I had to get my mind off of Bizz and continue with my job. On this week I continued my training of Raider and Tyler. Raider, my own dog who is a white and brown/redish caddle dog mix border collie and Tyler the service dog I was training for the week, a black and white border collie. Raider has a promising future with agility, he is only 3 1/2 months and he is picking up quicker than any dog I've ever seen at his age, everyone at the rescue is extremely impressed on fast he is learning everything. I am a proud owner, if this continues I might enter him in agility contests once he's good and old enough to compete. Tyler, is the service dog I trained for the week, his purpose of training is to become an emotional companion as he is a great friend. Very sweet dog.

Week 4:

This week I have decided was a full moon or something was in the water. We had a very crazy week and the children were ALL acting out of character or being extra wild. On Monday alone we had one student go into a fit and throw chairs then another little boy bit someone. Also on Monday we got a new little girl who didn't make it through her 1^st day of school ever. She had 2 full blown temper tantrums where she pushed tables, threw chairs, tried to tear up the classroom, and hit and kicked both teachers.  The principal had to come talk to her twice and by the end of the day she was suspended. Her mother refused to come get her and her sister who is 16 had to come pick the little girl up. The child isn't allowed back at school until her mother agrees to come have a meeting with the principal to discuss the child's behavior. It was also the first day of summer school at Starke so there were about 150 other children and teachers on campus which threw off our VPK students especially since most of the VPK students have siblings who are coming to summer school.  This was just on Monday alone.

The rest of the week was a bit less eventful. We are having trouble with attendance for our students and the excuses we are getting just seemed to be parents being lazy. So many times we get told that the parents wanted to sleep in so they didn’t bring the kids to school that day. In most other schools excuses and attendance like this would be unacceptable but Starke is a whole another world and these are everyday struggles you face in your class.  The home lives of these kids is shocking, they are constantly facing challenges that range from where they next meal will come from or if they will have water/electricity to gang violence and drugs. It is so important for the students to be in school not only for their learning to increase but also for their well-being to get them out of their home lives for a few hours and to help them to develop into people that rise above their environment.   

 One of the highlights of my week was when we got to do animal dances with the students. They were so in to all the animal noises we made and how we went around the room acting like the animals! It made the craziness of earlier this week kinda worth it J

"MRRRGAGGLHLGRGLL"

Week 3:

This week was an interesting week. We found out about some of our students home lives and the hardships that have shaped them even at such young ages. For example one of our children we found out has just been recently adopted and before this he was in the foster care system. He has been in many terrible living environments and they have clearly shaped him. He has many behavior problems and as you observe him you can see parts of his past life coming through in his bad behavior.  Another student we found out his mother is 17 years old and her son is 5. This means she was 13 when she had him and she NEVER brings him to school. He is such a great student and so willing to learn. If his mother would bring him to school I know he would excel. 

We have had some great experiences this week. One of our girls who has been very shy and wouldn’t talk to the other kids is warming up to the other kids and now talking to them. She has become very popular especially with the boys and she got really overwhelmed because they all wanted to be her best friend. So needless to say we had to protect her from the other kids for a little while. The children were being so good that we let them sing and dance to the song “Let It Go” from Frozen. It was the cutest thing! One of our other little boys also decided that I remind him of his mommy and he was super sweet to  me for  the rest of the day J The highlight of the week though was when we got to go to on a nature walk around the school and the kids got to play on the big playground. Even thought it was super sandy coming back to the it was so worth it to see all the kids faces during the walk and the joy they had on the big playground J

"Let it go!!!"

Summer of Service: Week 7

So this week I did my second experiment with the kids at the Boys & Girls Club. We did a marshmallow shooter experiment. The goal of this physic experiment was to teach kids about how Force = mass * acceleration. The older of the kids who actually understand multiplication definitely got the concept, but explaining it to the younger kids was a little more tricky. I think they understood by the end of it how it worked though.

All of the kids and adults definitely loved the experiment. If anyone has any free time and wants to do a fun science experiment this is definitely a good one to try. It was super easy too. Here’s how to make it:

Marshmallow Shooters

1. Make a hole in the bottom of a paper cup

2. Tie the bottom of a balloon. (Don’t blow any air into the balloon. Just leave it deflated.)

3. Cut a small hole on the top of the deflated balloon

4. Open up the hole and pull it over the bottom of the cup

5. Place marshmallow in balloon

6. Shoot

This past week I also was left at the border collie by myself to take care of the dogs. Luckily, it was only for a few hours, while Ani, Josh and everyone else went to empty out the Border Collie’s storage unit. Overall it went pretty well. At one point l was convinced that I had lost Ani’s beloved dog, Shank, but I managed to find him hiding in a different yard. I’m definitely more comfortable with the dogs now than I was before and  it was definitely a huge learning experience.

The Good and the Bad

The best times I’ve had at the rescue has been watching how much Abby and Josh have grown compared to when they first started at the rescue. When the students came for the Bonner Camp and then came to volunteer at the rescue I got to see how much these two have grown. They took to their leadership positions like white on rice. I was so proud and glad to see how much work we got done that day. It was amazing! It was awesome! It was…

Everything went smoothly and I just love when we get projects done and make the rescue a little bit better than it was before. Compared to when I started there were dogs in every room. I would guess more than 20 on the property and now we have all of the adoptable dogs in one kennel room and keep the numbers manageable.

I believe my unpleasant memory would be when we had to put down a few of our elderly dogs. Two of the dogs we had to put down were Raven, a boxer, and Cowboy, a border collie. The two were inseparable and the best of friends so it wasn’t any surprise when we had to put one of them down the other one had to follow. We are no kill but we believe in quality of life. At their age no one would be interested in adopting them. They would have to spend their entire lives at the rescue until one of us found them dead.

Ej and I brought the dogs to the vet and I tried to be strong and emotionally stable, but that went out of the window when I sat down and stared at Cowboy’s big eyes. They went together and that is what I’m happy about. Every site has a dark side and this is the dark side of rescues. Sometimes the only mercy you can give a dog especially their age is to send them over the rainbow road. I have their memory and I will miss them, but I need to carry on and help the other dogs find a home so they won’t grow old at the rescue. Instead they can grow old with a family.

Sorry for the downer post guys. :( I’m fine.

Okay I’m fine for real this time. Bonner Love!   

The Women Who Rock

During my three years I had the pleasure of meeting Tori and Carol. Tori is a firefighter and also the owner of Chloe, the redheaded sassy border collie. Carol is a service dog trainer and currently training Polo, Marco’s (Abby’s service dog in training) twin brother. These two women have made my three years enjoyable and very interesting.

Tori is a bucket of fun and has been an amazing trainer to her dog Chloe. For crying out loud Chloe is our demo dog for service. She picks things up, runs through the agility course like the wind and most importantly, is Michael’s favorite. If anyone gets injured *cough*ME*cough* she will be there to patch us *cough*MOSTLYME*cough* up. She is very dedicated to the helping out at the rescue and even when she has an off day from her already stressful job, she will come to help us out on a huge project.

Carol is a sweetheart and a very sassy woman. I’m sure if there wasn’t a language or distance barrier her and my grandmother would be besties.  She has trained a number of service dogs from the rescue and now is training Polo. From being around her and talking to her she has always been a strong person to me. She will always be strong in my eyes, especially now that she is waging a war against cancer. Carol has always been dedicated to the cause of training our rescues or donated dogs. I’m glad to see her dog Ace, the one previous to Polo, was placed with a girl who was deaf.

I’ve had my best memories with these two and my prayers especially go out to Carol. If you can train and handle stubborn dogs she can definably kick this cancer in the butt!

Thank you everyone and I hope you all have an inspiring summer. :)