Because I Care Part 3

Today I volunteered again for New York Cares, but this time I decided to try something new. I went to PS 270 in Clinton Hill to help a group of kids learn photography. They were all about 10 years old and all really sweet kids. Each volunteer had two kids that they were in charge of. I was excited to have two girls run up to me right away to work with me. Now I don't know much about photography but it was really just a way to get the kids outside, have fun and help them look at things in a new perspective. The goal today was to take pictures of colors. So we went out to the playground and I guided them into taking different photos of things they saw and try and look at them in a different way. So one girl was laying down on the jungle gym to take a picture of the sky and the tree. Mostly they just wanted to take pictures of themselves or each other. They were able to do this for about a 1/2 hour and then most of them seemed like they just wanted to hang on the swings or run around. But it was a Saturday so I don't blame them.

After, we went inside and printed out two of their favorite photos for them to put in their own little book. One of my girls chose a picture of my stomach, which was pretty funny because I was wearing a gray shirt so it really was not a picture of colors. But who am I to judge?

I'm always apprehensive about doing these volunteer days because I just don't know what to expect. But every time I go I seem to really enjoy it. I recommend everyone at least try doing something. It will open your eyes to knew things and maybe even make an impact on someone else.

Because I Care Part 2

If you remember a few weeks ago I worked at the food pantry in Clinton Hill, which was a really great experience and I do plan to do it again, but yesterday I decided to volunteer at a something different for New York Cares to try and see where I'm really needed and just open my eyes to different experiences. So I volunteered at PS 77 on Park Place (I think this is Park Slope but might be Prospect Heights) to help special needs boys practice yoga. There were about 15 junior high boys. Some needed more help than others doing the yoga poses but most had a pretty good grasp on what to do since they had been taking the class throughout the school year. We all put our mats in a big circle while the instructor was in the center and did about a 45 minute class. I thought the class was going to be an hour and 15 min but I guess they just tack on extra time on the schedule for clean up, which took about 3 minutes. I have never worked with any special needs children before so I was a little worried that I wouldn't know what to do, but I just followed the instructor and saw that she would come right over to a boy and try and place his hands or feet in the right position so that is what I would try to do. It didn't really work for me because the boy on my right seemed like he understood what to do but if I tried to move his hands or feet he just wouldn't move them. Obviously the boys didn't know me and probably didn't want to have me telling them what to do, but I did the best I could and so did they. I'm not sure I was really needed here because there were many other volunteers, but I did sign up again for next Tuesday to try it out again.

Because I Care

With the unemployment rate as high as it is and myself being unemployed, I thought that there are people out there who need help and I have the time to do something about it. So after going to an orientation for New York Cares a few weeks ago, I signed up to help at a food pantry right in my neighborhood of Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. NY Cares has so many volunteer opportunities that it was hard to pick one but since I wasn't sure how I'd do with animals, seniors or kids, I thought that helping people select free food was the way to go. It was great to meet all the other volunteers, many who return every week to donate their time. But it was even better knowing that I could help out just a little to the people that really need it. And the project was very simple. Basically, anyone can come to the food pantry at the Child Development Support Corporation between 10am and 12pm to pick up a certain amount of food depending on their family size. The food options today (and I was told they can change depending on what has been donated) were cereal, pasta, rice, beans, peanut butter, canned meat or frozen meat, canned fruits and vegetables, milk, and then an assortment of fresh fruits/veg and baked breads. I think it was about enough to last a few days to a week maybe.

If anyone is interested in volunteering with New York Cares or donating, you can go to their website. If you would like to visit CDSC's food pantry on Thursdays, the address is: 352-358 Classon Ave.