In Touch with Nature

It's been such a busy summer and a long semester, and my blog posts have not been up to par! But I'm back at it just in time for 2016!

To recap my last volunteer experience, I went to the Cayuga Nature Center through Service Saturday. This experience was far different than any other volunteering experience I have ever had! It was the first time I was working outdoors at a nature center to rake leaves and remove trees. The group and I moved piles of tree branches and cleaned the landscape around the center to make it a bit cleaner as winter approaches.

At Cayuga Nature Center, I was able to help with raking the fall leaves and cleaning up some of the outgrown trees and weeds surrounding the yard. Although the weather was chilly and summer was certainly over, I had come to realize how much of a difference raking leaves makes to an organization such as the nature center. And, of course, I got to see how fun raking leaves can be!

Raking leaves at Cayuga Nature Center

As I spoke with the facilities manager, he informed me that having a group of people - no matter how small - help with cleaning up the yard and preparing nature for the winter ahead was a really large help. For him, it is often difficult to maintain all of the yard work and the indoors facilities and maintenance around the center so having volunteers to complete tasks he had wanted to complete, but hasn't had time to, means a lot.

My volunteer group had much fun exploring the wilderness and maintaining the environment. 

Through my day at the nature center, I recognized the need for more volunteers at nature organizations. It is important to clean and maintain not only the yards, but also the hiking trails in order to create a more clean environment for the people who visit. In a scenic place such as Ithaca, many of the trails call for beautiful hikes. It would be a shame to let these trails go to waste just because there weren't enough volunteers to help with the maintenance of them. At my time with the nature center, I got in touch with nature and worked to improve the environment for environment-enthusiasts and hikers. My advice for those seeking a new experience volunteering would be to definitely try working at a nature center. It allows a new perspective on caring for the environment and why maintaining nature is such an important aspect to our lives. After all, we want the Earth to be around for future generations, right?

"We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children" ~ David Brower

Serving Others...And Yourself

Over the past few Service Saturday weekends, I visited the local Salvation Army and helped prepare and serve food to members of the community.

The Salvation Army of Ithaca is a space for community members to find hope, solace, and faith through religious services and community meals. My most memorable volunteer experiences have resulted from the time I have spent working with the Salvation Army staff. 

Through my time at the Salvation Army, I have not only prepared and served lunch, but have also had the privilege of interacting with the community members, my favorite aspect of working with the organization. I enjoy engaging with members of the community because the experience strengthens my knowledge and bond with Tompkins County and the city of Ithaca. 

I believe it is important to engage with members of the community in order to facilitate communication and discussion about current events and issues. I have learned that through dialogue and interaction with the residents who live in Ithaca, I can shed light to the social and unjust issues currently lingering in the city. 

With my involvement in the Salvation Army, I have seen how the organization is making a difference in the community by providing the necessary resources, such as food, to those in need.

I am preparing lunch with my Service Saturday team to serve to the members of the community

To me, volunteering at the Salvation Army is especially important during the winter season because it allows for me to share the spirit of the holidays with families and residents who do think they have a very joyful holiday. When I volunteered during the month of December, I helped decorate the sanctuary with holiday decorations and then served hot meals. Many of the residents asked for second meals, and with our preparation of an abundance of meals, we served more than one hot meal to each resident. After the experience, I felt proud and relieved to know that I contributed to the holiday celebration for several families. 

The Salvation Army has taught me the need to address the issue of poverty in Ithaca. Not only that, but the organization has provided me with the space to interact and engage with other populations outside of the college campus, which allowed me to grow as an individual learning to venture in the real world. Fortunately, the organization has brought to my attention its goal in becoming a source of strength to various residents of the community. 

I also learned the importance of religion during my time with the organization, as the community members would engage in a short prayer and worship before being served their meals. Observing and participating in the prayer and worship circle, I was able to reflect on my own religious views. 

Faith, I saw, is an important aspect of many lives. Faith provides people, including myself, with a sense of hope during the low points of life. With the Salvation Army's prayers and worship circles prior to serving meals, I was able to sense the importance of faith for everyone in the room, no matter what his/her religious views were. 

I hope to work closer with the Salvation Army in the future; for, the organization teaches me the importance of engaging with community members and helping serve hot meals to those in need of a little extra resources. Through the experience, I have grown to understand another part of the Ithaca and Tompkins County community outside of the college atmosphere.

Group picture after a day's work of giving back

"The more generous we are, the more joyous we become. The more cooperative we are, the more valuable we become. The more enthusiastic we are, the more productive we become. The more serving we are, the more prosperous we become" ~ William Arthur Ward

The Importance of Literacy and Education

Happy November! After a long break away from writing (it's been crazy busy with school work and co-curricular activities), I just have to tell you about my incredible experience at this month's Service Saturday event. 

Over the weekend, I volunteered at the Family Reading Partnership's Kids Book Festival, which works to promote early literacy for young children.

My job for the day was to help out at an activity station in which children could enter into a fake grocery store in order to shop and learn about the importance of fresh vegetables and fruits. Sponsored by the Cornell plantations, the fruits and vegetables that were set-up allowed children to easily scan the aisles for items that matched the colored sticker on each of the five dollar bills they received. Once they finished picking out their five items, they took the fruits and vegetables and checked out at the cash register. 

Although this task seems menial compared to past volunteer activities, it was a rather complicated task that involved good organization of the products, as well as efficient communication with my partner. 

With about six volunteers at the station, it was difficult to hear and communicate with each other, especially with young children running around the market. One of the ways we became organized and performed our roles effectively was through a routine procedure in which two people worked with the children, four people helped out at the cash register, and two people who organized the aisles and filled them with fruits and vegetables. 

As I worked with the children and explained to them and their families the directions to the activity, I learned that I truly have a passion for working with children. I found myself to be engaging and enthusiastic when it comes to taking care of children. 

Through this activity, I have also learned that there are many different ways of classifying fruits. For instance, a member from the Cornell plantations explained that fruits come from seeds; thus, vegetables such as the corn kernels, cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash could also be known as fruits. 

My experience at the book fair allowed me to realize the illiteracy issues that Tompkins County faces. I learned that there Tompkins County has several resources for low-come families, one of them being the Family Reading Partnership. Although people see the city of Ithaca as a small college town, many fail to recognize the social issues that plague the area. Volunteering with organizations that work to address specific issues help me develop an open-mind and become a person who is more aware of her surroundings. 

This Service Saturday was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever participated in. Not only did I discover that I have a true passion in working with kids, but I also learned about an issue that will certainly cross my mind the next time I volunteer in Ithaca --- literacy. I think that tying in reading with other important components to a healthy mind, body, and spirit is a great way to teach young children to become academically, emotionally, and physically healthy from a young age. It is important to promote healthy lifestyles and have children develop a love for reading at an early age because healthy lifestyles allow them to develop critical and analytical skills to become successful students and citizens.

Spring Cleaning

Amidst the muggy (and sometimes rainy) summer weather, we often find ourselves sitting inside the house with nothing productive to do. We struggle to find activities that are fun and will keep us cool without spending the extra cash. One of the ways that I started off the hot days in Ithaca is through volunteering at the local YMCA. 

The YMCA is a recreational center for the local citizens of the community. Many cities will have one because the center is fun for all ages and provides an abundance of activities that one can learn from and participate in. A place of learning and for exercise, the YMCA should not be hastily cared for; in fact, a community center such as this ought to be well-maintained so that patrons of the community can have a place to rely on if they want to exercise at a whole new level.

I worked with employees at the Ithaca YMCA during the last Service Saturday of the year. Just in time for the hot weather and for its summer attendees, the center was in the midst of renovating the swimming area. To help, a group of us started off by taking towels and drying off the entire concrete around the swimming pool -- that is, taking towels and drying each and every crack/spot so that painting would be easier. Drying the concrete around the entire pool area was not easy; it took us about an hour or so to finish this first step.

Next, after the concrete was dried, each of us claimed a different section of the pool area and began painting. I paired up with a friend and began painting the base of the side wall. This was a task that was much harder than I thought. As we painted, we had to make sure the we did not splatter paint on the already-painted white area of the wall. To avoid this as much as possible, we took a piece of cardboard paper and held it behind the area we were painting so that the paint would splash on the cardboard rather than the white areas. It required coordination and meticulousness. 

After we finished the base, we moved on to the other side of the pool area and began painting the concrete floor with a roller. As we took turns painting, we found the task to be more strenuous than we imagined; for, it was hot and muggy inside the renovating area and some parts of the floor were difficult to paint without drawing footprints as we moved along. 

Once it was time to head back on the bus, the employees expressed their gratitude towards us and thanked us for our help. I learned a lot about the YMCA and about the importance of lending a helping hand, even for such small tasks at a local center. 

I learned that even though the task of painting and helping to clean up a small community center was tedious, the center benefitted greatly from our help. When I returned to the bus, I realized that my clothes and shoes were splattered with paint stains. However, I was okay with the fact because I knew that the paint marks meant that I had made a difference in Ithaca before returning back home for the summer. Before leaving the YMCA, the employees told us that they could not imagine the time it would have taken to renovate the pool area without our help. A worker told us that Service Saturday was a great opportunity to give back to the community and praised Ithaca College, and its students, for continually helping out in the community. I couldn't agree more. 

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much" ~ Helen Keller

On Duty

In spreading the love this Valentine's Day, I went out and did community outreach through Service Saturday. This month's activities involved working with the Great Downtown Ithaca Chili Fest, where organizations and restaurants give out chili. 

Amidst the snow and cold air, I was excited! It was my very first chili fest and I got to help out. My initial reaction to the event was beyond belief. With so many people crowding each vendor, I couldn't wait to experience an annual Ithaca event. With that, I got assigned to volunteer as a patrol officer of some sort. 

My duty was to patrol the sidewalks and make sure that no one jaywalks through the street or organize the lines in a way that it wouldn't spill out onto the street. At first I thought the task was quite simple. I mean, I'm just being a security guard, right? 

Easy enough for me to say. I had never acted as a security guard for anything or anyone (well, unless you consider babysitting to be just that). The first 15 minutes went by without any problem, except for the fact that I started off extremely embarrassed to be wearing a neon vest while holding a neon orange flag. People were staring, and I was not comfortable with that. 

Since I was on duty for 3 hours, I figured time would fly by without me noticing. But that was not the case. In fact, time took forever to pass. 

After about an hour of standing along the sidewalk, my whole body felt as though it was frozen. I could not feel my fingers and toes. I wondered how security guards stand outside for so long in all seasons, for that matter. 

This Service Saturday experience, neither the best nor the most fun, turned out to be the most valuable. I realized how much significance I had as a duty officer when a pedestrian walked past me and told me, "Wow! You deserve a ticket for all that you have been doing. Thanks!" I couldn't believe it. I had actually made a difference in the community by patrolling the sidewalk and caring for others' safety. I felt proud for being recognized for such a small contribution. 

I now hold much more appreciation for security guards and patrol officers. They deserve a lot more respect and gratitude for all that they do. They hold out during the cold winters as they watch for people's safety and don't complain. Security guards and patrol officers provide more for us than we can ever imagine, so take some time one day to thank them. It will make them feel appreciated and might even make their day --- I know, because it made mine and I have been in their shoes. 

Photo Credit: http://www.3dwallz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/13/appreciation-can-make-a-day-even-change-a-life-copy.jpg