“Who stole my scooter?”
An extremely boisterous 12-year-old
Hispanic girl, named Katana, made my first day at Pernet Family Health Services
make me never want to come back. It was the one and only day that the director,
Emily Barnett, had to leave early. The remaining volunteers and I had no idea
how to handle the situation. According to Katana, someone had stolen her Razor
scooter. Her plan was to solve the problem by yelling and cussing at anyone
that came her way. I was trying to help out, but ended up having profanity
thrown my way. To say the least, she is no longer allowed to return to the
Homework Club.
Throughout
the semester of volunteering, I have become a familiar face to all these kids.
I could not possibly label one as “my favorite.” I am a sophomore at Assumption
College, and am currently enrolled in a Community Service Learning, or better
known as CSL, course for my major. When I first found out I would have to complete
25 hours of volunteer work on top of my five courses, I was less than thrilled
by the idea.
I
chose to volunteer at Pernet Family Health Services on Millbury Street in
downtown Worcester, Mass. for the reason that I had already spent a prior semester
doing work there. When I first started volunteering at this agency, I really
had no idea what I was getting myself into. I come from a very different
background than the kids that have had to grow up in Worcester and I didn’t
want to say the wrong thing. I was afraid of what to wear, because I didn’t
want to make anyone feel out of place if I was wearing something they may
consider “expensive.”
Little
did I know, I was going to have a group of amazing elementary and middle school
aged kids that would slowly begin looking up to me. Whether it is a question
about their homework, or sometimes even something about my life, I love hearing
all the curiosities that come out of any of their mouths.
Everyday
that I sit on the front steps of the Pernet house and anxiously await the
arrival of all the kids, you never know what to truly expect. Some days there
are more kids than the volunteers can even handle; other days there may be more
volunteers than there are kids. Sometimes someone might end up in tears or in a
heated argument with another kid; other times everyone has a giant smile on
their face.
It
is things like the unexpected surprises that kept me coming back to Pernet.
Although, I am not a fan of the struggles that would occasionally occur, it has
all been a great experience for me to grow and learn. Being able to help a
student complete their homework with little assistance and seeing the smile on
their face is probably one of the most rewarding parts of all the volunteering.
Not
knowing what to expect from a week-to-week basis is part of the excitement that
drives me to volunteer at this agency. I volunteer with other students that
attend Assumption College as well, but I am the only one doing it as part of a
Community Service Learning course.
When
I was choosing an agency to volunteer at, there was no doubt in my mind that I
wanted to work with little kids. My job back home is at a toy store and I am
always around kids; I also baby-sit a ton, and have many younger cousins. I
love that you never know what to expect next from a little kid. They can be
screaming and crying one moment, and smiling the next.
I
have become close with the woman who is the director of the after school
program and homework club, Emily Barnett. I have also learned over the weeks
what is the right thing and what is the wrong thing to say in response to
certain situations. Just like the situation with the girl Katana, when she was
cursing at me I really wanted to snap and scream back, but unfortunately that
is not the appropriate response when it is coming from a 12-year-old. I had to
step back for a moment, calm myself down, and than approach the situation. It
is tough when you see kids yelling at kids that are younger than them and
trying to blame them when nothing was their fault.
It
was an extremely overwhelming situation for someone who had just started
volunteering at Pernet Family Health Services, but I did not let it stop me
from coming back. I have been put in other situations as well, and I just take
them with a grain of salt and try to learn from them. That is about all I can
do about it sometimes.
**This is from Introduction to Journalism**
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