Boys & Girls Club- Week 6

Week six was fun as usual. I was having a really hard day, just being worn down and not in the greatest moods, but nevertheless I decided to go to the club today and not postpone the event. That I must say was the wisest decision I had taken that day. After just ten minutes or so with the kids I was already feeling so much better. The relaxed atmosphere and smiles upon everyone’s faces just changes your entire outlook. I remember one of the staff there sharing this experience with me on my first day, but now I really know what he was talking about. I felt so much better, just playing with the kids and sharing their laughter and careless afternoon. Away from the worries of the day, simply playing those games which kids play, it was the highlight of my day. What a blessing kids are, they remind us what life really is about. The simplicity of their play and joys in their actions can put a smile on anyone’s face.

Next week I have planned a visit with the administrative arm of the club. I will try to familiarize myself with the dealings of the local club and the sort of sponsors the club attracts in our area. I will also have one more day with the kids, sadly it will be my last. They have really grown on me and I will miss the time I spent with them. I think that if I have the opportunity I will go back and visit, and especially when I am having a bad day- I promise their smiles are the best cure for any stress or worry you might ever have!

Boys & Girls Club- Week 5

Week five, or Wednesday, I devoted entirely to the 11-12 year olds. Typically the group is supervised by two staff members, but this time one of them was missing so I had opportunity to feel in his place. We began the day by playing some games with the kids, UNO, and talking about how their day had gone. They shared different stories, and as kids do, had much to say.
Later that day we went to play outside, and to my surprise the kids chose to play soccer over the rest of the games- something quite counter intuitive to me. I was expecting a game of baseball or football, but the kids chose the one game which I least expected. This put a smile on my face, I was so happy to see that these kids were playing a game which I grew up playing, but more so, I was happy to see that this was no longer the foreign game it used to be. I remember when I first moved to this country almost no one had any interest in soccer, and the game was as foreign to them as football was to me. I played with the kids, and we had a really good time.
Later the kids had dinner, followed by some more games. What was interesting that day was the fact that it seems like something changed in the way I see them, and the way I see individuals my age as well. From the very first day in the club, I could not help but look at kids and try to envision them as adults. I would take different traits from their characters and try to picture what sort of things they would be interested in when they grow up. This proved a very interesting experience for me. I see many of the traits which we, adults, posses, and observing the kids interact is a rewarding experience in its own. Something else that I began doing, however, was to begin looking at adults and envisioning them as kids. Now that I had spent some time with the kids and observe them interact, I began seeing us adults in a different light. The games we sometimes play, the things we find entertaining, the things we find as vitally important. Interesting thoughts arise from such observations and I can help it but smile and ponder upon such things from time to time.

Boys & Girls Club- Week 4

Week four was, well , I did not have an experience during week for because the club was closed for Spring Break. Instead I attended the club twice this week to make up for the missed time. In this blog I will discuss my experience on Tuesday, and in the next one I will talk about Wednesday.
Tuesday was an interesting day for me. When I arrived I spend some time visiting with the youngest members of club- my favorite group. They, as always, were happy to see me. I was surprised to see how many of them remembered my name and recognized me immediately, they remembered the games we had played during some of my previous visits and immediately tried to draw my attention towards them. I would have liked to spend the day with them once more, but I had firmly decided I needed to visit with different age groups on that day.
Next I spend some time with the 11-12 year olds, however, they were not in the usual room they spend the day in, and instead they were playing pool and other such games in the big common area. I spend some time playing a game of pool with a few of them, and getting to know them, but what really drew my attention that day was a class which was being thought on the side of the play area. The club has a few education geared programs. One of them is called Citi, and as the name suggests, the program is sponsored by Citi Group. Basically, the kids are though concepts such as the power of branding, savings, and some management techniques. This however, was not some cynical scheme to get kids hooked on Citi Group products. Yes of course the odds are that when they think of banking activities they will associate that with Citi, but that merely seemed like a small perk for the firm. The program is geared toward the introduction of important financial concepts to kids, a process which I believe will greatly benefit them, and their environment in the long run. Kids are thought to think of the power of saving. For example they are given an option of spending their money on ice cream and other such pleasures of life, or saving the money and being able to purchase a bicycle. Some very important concepts come across thought the class and I could not help it but think of how this is a very beneficial way for factual knowledge to enter popular culture. I always find myself wondering of the ways in which this process occurs, and for ways of improving it, but this program seemed to be a prime example of a successful method for conducting this. I gathered some material from the courses and spoke with the person responsible for teaching them, and I am looking forward to an opportunity to analyze them a bit more.

Week 3

My third week at the Boys and Girls Club was another beneficial experience. I was planning on working with 11 & 12 year olds, but instead in the last moment I decided to work with the youngest kids- 5-7. I think every one should experience that. The kids are so incredibly welcoming, rather unaffected by the world surrounding them. Some of them come from unpleasant environments of unhealthy living conditions and disorderly structured families, but all of that does no seem to matter. At that age there still too young to understand it, every one seems as respectable and powerful to them, all it takes is the appearance of a grown up, as they and we used to refer to older individuals.
The previous week when I had worked with the 9-10 year old group it made an impression on me how much less they respected the authority of the regular staff and myself, its not that they were misbehaving, it was just the way they generally perceived the things told to them by us, the grown ups. Its not the same way with the young ones, for them all that matters is the appearance of age it seems like. I spoke to one of the workers about this, and he told me that he enjoys working with the younger kids especially because of that. What are the reasons for this I ask myself? What is it that kids experience after they reach the age of 8 or 9.
The most trouble creating group is 11-12. They cause more trouble even then the teenagers, which are intuitively expected to be the highest ranking when it comes to this criterion. I don’t remember this being the case with my generation, it seems like something has changed, something has made us go trough a period of self-searching at a slightly younger age.
In my next visit I am planning on working with this group of kids and see what exactly it is that is so different about them. I have not worked with them yet, I have only conversed with the staff at the club about them. This will be an exciting time for me and I am looking forward to it.

Week Two- an experience within

My second week at the Boys and Girls’ club was quite informative and fun. I have now begun to educate myself on the mechanics of the club, and its development over the past century. The Joplin chapter of the club was initiated in the middle of the 20th century, more specifically 1957. The building which the club took over used to be an orphanage. The club expanded the building, and over the years it carried out numerous renovations and some additions.
The most amazing aspect of this process is that seemingly every part of the building has a very amazing story. The newest addition to the building, for example, was donated by an individual who’s son used to love attending the club. From what I understood the club was something very special to him, and held a big part in his heart.
As another example, just last Monday, a lady walked in the club and donated a significant amount of money. Her husband used to live in the orphanage when he was a young boy, and that building, that institution, made a very strong impact upon his life. In fact, the memories were so strong that he was no willing to walk inside the building, and instead let his wife make the donation by herself.
There are so many amazing stories about the Boys and Girls Club. This organization has made such a large difference in so many lives.
On Tuesday, I had the chance to work with 7-9 year old kids. They were so different from the 5-7 year old group. They were not as warm and welcoming. Instead the relationship with the staff had turned a bit more technical, the kids realized the staff was there for them, to serve them, and it seems like that illuminated the environment into a different scheme.
There was a little girl whom asked me to help her with her home work. She was working on math, 3rd grade math to be precise. I was so excited to get the chance to help out with this. I began walking her through her assignment and after some time I realized she was really struggling with the topic. At first, I though it was the way I was conveying the ideas, perhaps I was not being clear enough, or I was not able to communicate the ideas in a way she could grasp. Later I found out that she regularly has trouble with her home work. That is not the point, however, the point is that this little girl comes into the club every week day knowingly she will have a really hard with her homework assignment. Nevertheless, instead of deciding to play on the computers the facility has, or spend time with the other kids there, she chooses to sit down and work on her home work. I point out she chooses to do this, she is not required by any one. I think this could possibly result in another great story for the generations one day. The fact that this little girl is so persistent and that the staff is there for her each and every day, leads me to imagine the impact this could have upon her life. I do not know her family’s demographics, or anything else about them or her actually, besides the fact that she has trouble doing her home work, but is so very persistent. Who knows she could one day become someone very important for the rest of us. She could invent the cure for that one decease everyone is fighting so hard with, or devise a plan for reduction of childhood illiteracy, or simply come back to the club and make a donation just as the old lady had done the day before.
The club is a self supporting organization. The individuals who pass through it, often times come to the realization of what an important role it has played in their lives, and they continue the possibility for many other kids. This of course is only one part of the financial structure of the club. Another part is received in the form of corporate philanthropy. I will discuss that in more detail in later blogs, as I gain a better grasp of how precisely it works in this club’s case.