Hayden Pegley: Blog after 3rd day

Since I was 4, I’ve volunteered with an organization that offers shelter for homeless families. I wanted to branch out from that organization but keep a focus on homelessness. After doing some research, I found LifeMoves, specifically LifeMoves Summer Adventure. LifeMoves is an organization whose goal is to “break the cycle of homelessness in the Bay Area”, and their Summer Adventure is a summer camp for children from homeless families within the LifeMoves network. For my first week I’m volunteering at LifeMoves’ Haven House in Menlo Park. 

The entirety of my 8:00 AM-3:00 PM day is spent with the kids, so in 3 short days I’ve already gotten to know a couple of the kids very well. I immediately bonded with two 12 year-olds, Christian (Chris) and Junior. From how they interacted, I thought that Junior and Chris must have been best friends for years. It wasn’t until I sat down on a bench with Chris for lunch yesterday that I learned he had moved to Haven House from Florida only two weeks ago. He talked about moving between different apartments every couple of months, and how a job opportunity had brought the family to California. I still can’t believe that he and Junior have only known each other for a week or two; they talk about the health of their families and what they want out of life. I wonder if constantly moving gave Chris an ability to quickly latch on to friends around him.

I worked at another summer camp week, but that camp cost hundreds of dollars to go to. It was fascinating to see the difference in how campers interacted with each other at the two camps. It was hard not to notice how the LifeMoves campers, though fun-loving and energetic like all kids, had a harder time controlling their emotions than the campers at the other camp. At the LifeMoves orientation, the lead volunteering told us that the kids in the camp are likely at least 2 years behind in school and may also lack the emotional and social maturity of other kids their age. I’ve unfortunately seen this to be true. I’m interested to see whether I’ll notice this at First Step, the complex I’m volunteering at next week.

Ellie Lieberman: Blog After Six Visits

After a few days working at Spark, I did notice an emotional reaction within myself. I felt so strongly that all the girls were deserving of more than a week of structure in the summer. I did not feel that a week was enough and after Wednesday, I decided that had to work to continue working with the girls throughout the school year. Not sure yet on what that will be, but I still want to work on it.

Music Video/Presentations of Role Model: Much of the second half of the camp related back to either the all camp music video to 'Shake it Off' by Taylor Swift or the poster making and presentation of each girl's female role model. For the music video, it was really awesome watching each girl come alive when it came to acting and singing. None of them had been exposed to the filming and production of a video, so even though this activity may not have been so academic, I think they learned a lot and specifically about persistance. The video did not succeed immediately but with patience and cooperation from everybody it did. In reflection, this particular activity made me realize how important it is for all schools including Taft to emphasize the arts because they open a window of opportunity many students don't have in the classroom. Similarly, each girl had the chance to research and then present in a video form about their role model. Public speaking in particular was also very frightening for many of the girls.

In conclusion, and through all these activities, I do believe I had an impact through my service. On the basic level, I was able to provide a week of structured activities for 20 low-income girls who would otherwise be sitting at home. But, deeper than that, I think I taught them that girls have just as much potential as boys career-wise and in the future. Whether they were interested in woodworking, science, cooking or basketball, the goal was to show the girls to chase their dreams. I think that by giving them a safe space to talk about their interests with like-minded girls, they were given a good chance.

Ellie Lieberman: Blog After Three Visits

Before my PACT, my perceptions was that many low income students like the ones served through Camp Spark was that many had programs like the Boys and Girls Club or Peninsula Bridge to go to over the summer. I learned immediately from the sign ups for Camp Spark that many low-income students actually lack structure in the summer. Immediately, upon coordination with Claire Oliver, Taft's Director of Community Relations, I learned how grateful many of the students were for the oppertunnity to have a camp to go to over the summer. While the goal was for 16 girls to sign up, there were actually 20 at the camp. But, before we could even get to this point, there was a lot of planning that went into it. Two years prior, I had worked with seniors Ethan Wong, Will Baldwin, Meg Sanford and Alexandra Walker to put on a Camp Spark for 40 students from Taft but the camp was more centered around sports and less on art and science. I decided to shift the vision last spring to make it more centered around girls empowerement. The curriculum this summer consisted of art, science, reading (Frindle) and girls empowerment. Here were some of the most impactful moments of the first three days:

Reading Frindle alound in small groups: When reading with 3-4 girls at a time, I noticed 1) the fear many girls have in a large classroom when it comes to reading aloud 2) the need for them to be in small groups and constantly reading in order to improve their skills. Many of them came into the camp completely opposed to reading even when it was only with a few peers. One girl kept telling me she couldn't read because she forgot her glassses but soon after hearing her friends read, she was comfortable doing the same. After we went around a few times, the girls were able to accept their mistakes and each time they read, they were not only improving, but getting more excited about the task.

Snacktime: Two things also stuck out to me when giving the girls snack and lunch. 1) how they lacked nutrition related education and 2) the fear of when the next meal is gonna be. Many of the girls were strongly opposed to eating vegetables and also were not very open to experiencing new foods. These things can be taught and so I guess it kind of just struck me how valuable a lesson in nutrition would've been. Also, especially with pizza, the girls constantly were asking for another slice. It seemed that at times they were compensating for a lack of food elsewhere which definitely made me understand the importance of a stable food source multiple times a day.

Coke+Mentos: This experiment was very beneficial because not only was it hands-on, but it taught many of the girls lessons that could not have been cemented with a lecture. One of the main takeaways was that the combination of coke and mentos is a physical, not chemical reaction which is something that may go against the common knowledge of the experiment. Funny enough, this takeaway stuck with the students much more than almost any other lesson from the camp. Just goes to show the value of collaboration and hands-on activities.

Mason Jar Decorating: Another activity was decorating mason jars with pictures from magazines. This activity was so enjoyable for counselors and campers alike and it was especially wonderful to see how creative they were with their designs. It was really nice to give them something they could take home with them as a result of the camp.

Girls Empowerment PPT: Many of the girls may have come into camp only thinking they could grow up to be a Disney actress or singer, and some may still want to pursue that path, but through a girls empowerment powerpoint, the goal was th show them many more unique female role models. The slides described everyone from White House Chef, Christeta Commerford to immigration activist, Christina Jimenez and I think succeeded in showing the girls more role models. It was especially rewarding when it came time for them to pick role models they wanted to learn about as many chose ones I had talked about and some wanted to research even more. A girl named Maya even chose to focus on a woodworker which I thought was particularly interesting.

Rohin C 6th Pact Visit

Rohin Chandra
August 18, 2016: 6pm-8:30pm
International Institute of the Bay Area
Sam Bianco
sbianco@iibayarea.org

       By my 6th visit to the International Institute, I began to feel more comfortable teaching my class. I had not completely earned their respect yet, but I was getting better with my Spanish and teaching techniques. By this time, I had a consistent co-teacher, who is incredibly good at Spanish. She had taken over the lead role in the class, while I was mainly an assistant. This was nice for me, as I wasn't ready to teach the class on my own yet, and I could always ask my co-teacher to help explain complex subject material I didn't have the words for. Slowly though, I am starting to take on more responsibility. I can confidently explain governmental concepts such as the line of succession should the President die completely in Spanish

    As of now, two of my students have passed their citizenship test yet. My students are much smarter than I initially thought. They learn incredibly fast, and it is a very collaborative environment. When I teach history, half of them already know what we are talking about. The ones that can understand my broken Spanish translate for the ones that don't, and they all learn together. It's so important to them to become citizens, so they are among the most motivated students I've ever seen. 

    Part of the reason I chose the International Institute was to have a direct impact on the issue of immigration. I think I'm accomplishing this. My teaching is having a direct impact on the lives of my students, because I've seen that they are learning and getting prepared for their citizenship tests. The only thing that I want to improve is the reach of the program. At the moment, we are lucky to have a Stanford class who volunteers to teach, but when they leave, we will be short on teachers. The program works, but not enough people are taking advantage of it. We need more teachers to be able to expand our impact. 

Rohin C Pact 3rd Visit

Rohin Chandra
July 21, 2016: 6pm-8:30pm
International Institute of the Bay Area
Sam Bianco
sbianco@iibayarea.org

     My 3rd visit to the International Institute went very well. Having some previous experience teaching the class helped a lot, although my Spanish was still not up to the level I had hoped for. We spent the day talking about the branches of government, material that is almost sure to be tested during the citizenship interview. While I still struggled finding the Spanish words for "executive" or "judicial", I was helped immensely by my co-teacher that day. I managed to get through the lecture, and my students did reasonably well when we tested them afterwards. This was my first lesson where I felt like I was actively teaching, as opposed to observing another person lead the lesson. 

   Before going in to the International Institute, I had thought my Spanish was good. I learned that there is a big difference between speaking Spanish in class and in real life. My students speak so fast I often have to ask them to repeat themselves.

    I think this lesson in particular was very impactful. The branches of government is a key idea potential citizens must grasp, and is often tested in the citizenship interview. I definitely felt like I was teaching something useful, and that my actions would have an impact. I was effectively preparing my students to pass their citizenship test. It was great to have that feeling of accomplishment as a teacher, which is something I've never had before. 

Rachel Norum PACT Visit #6

Rachel Norum

6/16/2016 at 9:00am

Second Harvest Food Bank

Sam

(650)-610-0800

On my sixth trip to the food bank, I was working with a volunteer group from Survey Monkey as well as a few other regular volunteers. They recently got a new shipment of food in from the company, Nabisco, so for this session we were packing up boxes, weighing them, and labeling them to get sent off to be distributed to families. This last trip was one of my favorites. Even during my first few trips to the food bank I didn’t think I would get emotionally attached at all but I ended up learning a lot about myself through this organization. Even though I never got to meet the families I was helping, it didn’t stop me from forming a connecting with them. My PACT project showed me just how privileged I truly am and taught me to not take the meals my family puts on the table for granted. I ended up admiring the volunteers who had difficulty supporting themselves but still took time out of their days to help others. Being this selfless is the ideal for me. In the future, even if I can’t even take care of myself, I want to help take care of others. I feel like I truly impacted other people’s lives and that is one of the best feelings in the world. I will continue to volunteer at the Food Bank because it was such a great experience for me and will encourage my friends and family to come along in the future.

Rachel Norum PACT Visit #3

Rachel Norum

6/10/2016 at 3:00pm

Second Harvest Food Bank

Sam

(650)-610-0800

Before working at the Food Bank, I thought the organization would be a lot less organized than they were. I thought I would be doing a random job that they needed done right at that moment and I didn’t believe they would have a lot of volunteers there. But as soon as I walked in I realized how wrong my preconceptions were. They run their whole organization on a tight schedules and have very specific jobs they need done. I also underestimated the amount of volunteers that would be there. The sign in sheets were filled in back and front and everybody who was there were extremely hardworking and wanted to be there. There weren’t just kids who needed to get their hours signed off but instead there was an extremely diverse group of people ranging from adults to families and even a few senior citizens. I was also extremely interested, and a little surprised, to see how many people volunteered there even though they don’t have the best jobs or a lot of money. Of course there were people who were there that could easily sustain themselves, but there were also people I met that were there because they have known what it feels like to be hungry and they want to be able to help other people who have the same problem they did in the past. I have met a lot of regular volunteers who aren’t afraid to show new people around and show them how different jobs work. Everybody has been extremely welcoming so far and I am excited to continue working with them.

Hunter S: PACT #2

Hunter Siebel
July 11, 2015
Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA
Morgan Little
MLittle@PeninsulaHumaneSociety.org

At the Humane Society in Burlingame, I worked with young orphaned feral kittens that people brought in. The kittens were often sick and needed constant care.

I would say the social injustice I was primarily targeting was animal overpopulation. Every year, around 100 to 150 newborn feral kittens are brought into the center where I worked. By bringing them in, people are helping to stop the overpopulation of cats. At the Humane Society, volunteers like myself nurture the kittens until they are strong enough to go into foster care where they are socialized with humans and familiarized with living inside a home. Once the cats are old enough to be spayed and neutered, the Humane Society preforms the operation and puts the cats up for adoption.  Spaying and neutering is a proven way to reduce pet overpopulation. This is something we especially need because there are nearly 2.4 million adoptable cats and dogs put down in U.S. shelters each year- one is put down about every 13 seconds.

While working at the Humane Society I learned a harsh truth. Often times kittens would fall ill with highly infectious diseases that would put the rest of the kittens at risk. Sometimes I would come in to volunteer and the kitten I new was too young to go to foster that I had worked with just a few days before would be gone. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that I couldn’t save every kitten, but I learned to understand that certain things had to be done to ensure the prosperity of the other kittens. I think I really did make a difference through my work and it is definitely something I will continue to do beyond PACT.

Hunter S: PACT #1

Hunter Siebel
June 15, 2016
Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA
Morgan Little
MLittle@PeninsulaHumaneSociety.org

Before I began my PACT work at the SPCA, I thought that the organization would be very much like a regular pound. It would be a sad place where animals went when they had nowhere else to go. When I started volunteering, I realized that the SPCA was actually a very nice, bright and happy place where dogs and other animals were constantly being adopted. I thought my work at the SPCA kitten nursery would involve healing very sick kittens until they were ready to be adopted. In reality however, although there are a lot of sick kittens, the kitten nursery is more of a halfway house for kittens that are still too young to be adopted.

Through my work at PACT, I discovered a lot about the human psyche.  Every volunteer things they know how to do the worst best, and it becomes a little competitive. Every volunteer has a different take on how things should be done. For example, while some volunteers will allow kittens who don’t want to be syringe-fed to not have to, others believe it is imperative that the kitten be fed no matter what. Small differences like these actually cause big issues and tension between volunteers. I was surprised how much little things like this not going my way really bothered me and made me sad because I didn’t think every kitten was getting proper care. I do believe I have made a difference through my work.  Around 100-150 kittens come through the nursery each year and it is up to volunteers like myself to make sure the kittens stay happy and healthy so that they can be adopted. As a volunteer, I also have to watch the kittens and point out any issues that they may be having to the vets that also volunteer. I feel that I am helping to save the lives of hundreds of cats through the SPCA.