We're finally settling into our new "home" for the week at Briarcliff, where we're fortunate enough to have access to a gym, a full kitchen, and an awesome lounge. Yesterday (Monday 3/5), we spent the morning recovering from sleep deprivation before heading off to the Brookhaven Boys & Girls Club. The center, conveniently located near where we're staying, is a place that ASB Urban Poverty has managed to build a pretty solid partnership with, so it was great to be able to return for yet another year. And for me personally, as a previous participant on this trip, it was great to have the opportunity to visit and see how Brookhaven had changed since last year.
We arrived at the Boys & Girls Club around 2pm, about half an hour before the kids got there, and we were given a quick tour before they arrived. Around 2:30pm, the kids started arriving and they didn't even hesitate to begin interacting us. Many started asking if we were going to be their "Big Brothers and Big Sisters," and it was sad to have to tell them that we were only able to stay for the day. After playing outside for close to an hour, it was time for the kids to start working on their homework. We each settled in to try to help pairs or small groups of them, and many of us quickly realized just how long it had been since elementary school. Working on assignments dealing with telling time and counting money, we realized just how difficult it can be to make sure each child is provided with equal opportunities for help and individualized attention.
After spending about half an hour helping the kids with their homework, we went back to play outside on the playground. This lasted until 4:15, when a minor incident led us to leave about 45 minutes earlier than planned. However, even in the two hours, we spent at the center, we had a great time interacting with the kids, some of us even reminiscing on our days of childhood.
I think that being at the Boys & Girls Club brought up a lot of topics and ideas for all of us. Seeing how sad some of the kids were when they found out we were leaving, and that we wouldn't be coming back, made us stop and thinking: Was our being there beneficial to these kids? Or was it hurting them? Yes, we helped them work on their homework and played with them. But none of us wanted to think about the fact that our leaving them at the end of the day might be hurting them, or that by the next day, some of them wouldn't even remember us at all. To these kids, it was just another after-school program, same as what they normally go to on Mondays. But for us, it brought up a lot of deeper themes. We worried that, with experiences like their interactions with us, these kids might be used to the destabilization of having people, role models who they admire, come and go in their lives. It got us all to thinking about what we can be doing in our own communities to help kids and to do so in ways that can build lasting relationships rather than just one-day direct service experiences.
Overall, I think we all enjoyed volunteering at Brookhaven. I know I did, and I know that it made me think even more about the importance of education and of really working to create a supportive learning environment whenever interacting with kids. Despite the craziness and the unexpected changes in plans, I was proud of everyone and how much they seemed to be taking away from the experience. I can't wait to see where the next two days take us as we continue in this week of service-learning together.
Peace, love, and APPLES,
Olivia Hart
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