Ingrid Edge- North Strand Park and Recreation Center

I volunteered my time at North Strand Parks & Recreation Center.

This is a nonprofit agency that help families with after school care, summer care, holiday events and also little league sports. I helped with the Halloween Hupla and also the after school care and tutoring. These service activities related to the curriculum we learned in class including a lot of listening. When at the site children would come up and talk to me with no issue, though they didn’t know me well they just wanted a listening ear. This site also related to FLE because parents were also involved and information was being passed word of mouth, flyers, tv adds, and several more ways of spreading the word about this organization and about all the events they have year round.

The people who directed the event were very easy going and they had plenty of experience in this area. They handled children and also parents with respect and had the knowledge to point them in the correct direction of their questions. I learned that you have to be confident in everything you do and don’t let people intimidate you. While helping with these events I talked to a lot of people who were interested in my major and wanted to help in any way they could. Some people pointed me in the direction of internships over the summer, and some talked to me about different jobs and who they knew could help me.

This organization has a huge impact on the community! Everyone knows about it around the community and all of the events are directed to the community to bring them together and fellowship with one another. This organization is huge in my hometown area! Most people who live in my area don’t live in neighborhoods or talk to many people outside of their family. With this organization hosting events brings children and parents together. Though some of the children go to school with each other there is several different elementary schools in my hometown area so not everyone gets the chance to get to know each other. This organization effects the community tremendously and gives everyone the opportunity to be as one and enjoy meeting new people and getting familiar with the people in and around the community they live in.

I really enjoyed working with holiday events to see the children smile made me realize how grateful they are. I also learned that children are happy with the smallest things such as small conversations, or candy. I was always taught to treat people the way you want be treated and these kids made me reflect on my childhood and made me realize I need to enjoy life while I can. I could look around at first and see everyone isolated with their children and families, but as the event went on the children started to befriend other children and they went their own way and parents began to talk and make friends with each other. This showed me that though people are from the same area means absolutely nothing and I was surprised how the children had to stray away first before the parents actually started to loosen up.