Volunteer work-Kelsey Ballou

1). I volunteered my time at three different organizations. The first one was Ebenezer elementary where I read to kindergarten class, and then helped at the Winthrop Coliseum when the athletic department put on a, “Fitness day”. The day consisted of the elementary school kids doing various activities to promote fitness. These activities included, basketball, soccer, and a track and field relay event! I also helped at Park Methodist church with their annual pumpkin patch. I helped set up the pumpkin patch one Sunday which was a lot more time consuming and physically demanding than I thought but the people that go to that church were so grateful to have so many college kids to help them. I then helped them on the weekends when they officially started to sell pumpkins, most of the proceeds went to helping their youth programs go on mission trips. Finally, I volunteered at the United way over Thanksgiving break while I was at home. I helped assist with the food drive.

2). When I was volunteering at Park Methodist church I started to think about the types of FLE programs that could use the church as a meeting location. The church itself has various FLE programs, for example, an older woman was telling me about how parents can meet every Wednesday to discuss parenting strategies and how to use the Lord to strengthen their parenting techniques. Couples can also be counseled here and are able to go to a free event each month where they are given helpful tips on how to sustain a happy healthy marriage. Although these events are all Christ Centered and an FLE program should usually not have any type of affiliation that will stop it from being inclusive to all, the programs themselves seemed very helpful for the church community itself.

I loved that Winthrop was able to put on the Fitness Day for the Ebenezer students because showing kids how fun it can be to stay active and exercise at an early age is so important. We have an obesity epidemic in our country and this was an opportunity to get kids excited about exercise and staying healthy while also introducing them to what exactly college is.  It was a great display of two schools coming together to share one’s recourses with the other, which is how communities should be! They’re especially optimal places for FLE programs to grow.

My time at the United Way was also another great opportunity to see how the community is so important in terms of helping those who are underprivileged.  So many people donated canned goods and quite a few were there to help make sure the food was given to those who needed it. FLE is all about using your recourses and United Way definitely did this by using those in their community who had enough recourses to help those who didn’t.

3). If I have learned anything from college it is the importance of networking, I have been given a lot of opportunities because I knew the right people. By volunteering my time, I was able to build relationships with a diverse group of people who will one day be able to help me if I need anything. Especially the people over at the Winthrop Coliseum, they will be able to help me tremendously in terms of educated related things. My time with the United Way also helped me meet people in my very own community back home that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.

4). I will admit that at first I didn’t want to do this assignment because fifteen hours outside of class seemed like a lot, but when it is broken up it really isn’t that bad and the feeling you get afterwards makes it all worth it! I love the different FLE programs that I was able to see in real life and meeting the people that are behind the scenes was a great experience, especially if I wish to pursue the FLE career.