3rd Visit to There With Care

Grace Young
There With Care
Dates: 7/17/17, 8/14/17, 8/16/17

During my first three visits to There With Care, I learned a lot about how having a sick child can affect a family. I decided to work with this organization because last year, my brother became very ill and almost died. He was misdiagnosed several times, and it was incredibly stressful for our entire family not knowing what was wrong with him. I believe that sickness is the ultimate injustice because it attacks people at random. Fortunately my brother has mostly recovered and is back to attending school and playing sports. While my family was greatly affected by my brother’s sickness, we were fortunate enough to be able to access multiple doctors, hospitals, and opinions. I can’t imagine what it would be like for a family who does not have the resources to do the same. There With Care addresses this injustice by helping to alleviate some of the stresses of everyday life, so that parents can focus on their sick child. After attending the training day, I had gained an entirely new perspective on what this can mean for a family. To mention a few, some of the challenges that these families face include access to fresh food, care and attention for siblings, and lack of reliable transportation. On my first visit after training, we helped organize “baby essentials kits,” intended for parents who have given birth to babies with critical illness. This situation is particularly traumatizing and parents certainly do not have time to purchase items they may need while waiting in the NICU.  A baby essential kit includes diapers, books, strollers, cribs, and clothing, and other items which parents can utilize. On my next visit, I went shopping for school supplies for a boy recovering from cancer. He was incredibly excited to return to school and to go back to a normal life, and it was inspiring to watch what a positive attitude he had after going through such a horrible experience. Our health is often something that we take for granted, but after working with There With Care I have become so much more grateful for each normal day.

Connor Kennedy: Acterra Reflection 2

Connor Kennedy

Organization: Acterra

Dates: 6/11/16, 6/24/17, 6/25/17

For my second set of visits I visited Arastradero Preserve again for the first two dates and then a much different location at Foothills park for my final visit. For the first visit, we pulled centaurea solstitialis (yellow starthistle), another rapidly dispersing invasive specie. We also went back to look at the willow branches we had planted a while ago. It was clear that some had taken root by their green leaves but others just looked still like dead sticks. For our second visit we were on watering duty. At some point that summer other volunteers had taken the time to plant many native grasses across a hillside and we were watering them to help them through their first summer. After that their roots would be deep enough that they could survive on their own. For our final visit we once again pulled yellow starthistle but this time at Foothills Park. It was once again getting ready to drop its seeds and we wanted to pull it before that happened. We cleared out an entire hillside of the stuff and threw it to die under shady trees where the seeds couldn’t sprout. After all six visits I felt much more connected to the environment around me and was glad I was able to help in such a tangible way.

Connor Kennedy: Acterra Reflection 1

Connor Kennedy

Organization: Acterra

Dates: 11/14/15, 1/17/2016, 1/30/2016

During my first three visits to Acterra preservation sites, I engaged in many different activities that helped restore the environment around me. During our first visit, where we went to Arastradero Preserve, we planted willow sticks in the riverbed and we created piles of trimmed brush. The willow sticks would eventually grow into willow trees, trapping sediment and slowing down the stream. This would keep more of the water upstream (instead of flowing into the ocean) and help out the local plants. The use of the piles of brush was that once the piles dried out it would become a home for all types of little critters, helping to restore the balance of the ecosystem. For our second visit, we went to Foothills Park. Here we pulled an invasive species known as french bloom in order to allow room for native plants to grow. The seeds for french bloom can hibernate for up to 60 years so every year they must go back to the site and pull more. For our third visit we went to Barkley Field in order to plant some native plants and pull some weeds. We worked up and down a hill in order to create the best environment possible for our native plants. I found the work very meditative and it was great knowing that I was helping to restore our natural ecosystem, creating a healthier earth for both ourselves and the plants and animals living there.

3rd Visit Kids With Dreams

Thomas Brown
Date: February 18, 2017
Organization: Kids With Dreams
Supervisor: Will Bannick

My visits to Kids With Dreams thus far have been impactful as I've seen how the program helps these kids with special needs develop their social skills by interacting with one another. I've found that the goal of Kids with Dreams is not to actually teach the kids basketball, but to put them in a social situation where they are forced to wait their turn to shoot the ball, to pass the ball to other people as well as step out of their comfort zone and take a shot themselves. Through the times I've been there, I've seen many kids become much more agreeable when it comes to things like standing in line, waiting their turn and following instructions, most likely as they have begun to trust us (the coaches) more. I've known one of the participants, Aidan, for pretty much all my life as he used to go to church with me and I can see how he has grown through his experience at Kids With Dreams. Initially he was always standing to the side and would only participate when directly told to by a coach, but now he seems to be much more comfortable interacting with the other kids and even runs up and down the court when we scrimmage. Knowing Aidan prior to working with Kids With Dreams helped provide me with some perspective going in, and I knew that I would not actually be "coaching" the kids, rather acting as more of a role model and helping them have an enjoyable time.

6th Visit Kids With Dreams

Thomas Brown
Date: April 30, 2017
Organization: Kids With Dreams
Supervisor: Will Bannick

In my recent visits coaching at Kids With Dreams I've definitely found that I've gotten closer with a lot of the kids. I've had some fun conversations with a few of the older participants (who are more coherent) regarding school, the NBA season and their other activities aside from Kids With Dreams. The participants also seem much more comfortable with each other as everyone now knows each others names and abilities and are willing to work towards everyone having a good experience. There have been a few instances of disagreements between the younger kids, and during these times the other coaches and I have to balance our attention between the large group while also settling arguments. I've come to learn that the kids really thrive when they receive positive reinforcement and attention, so rather than putting someone in a timeout it is important to make sure both kids seem like they have their side heard and to get them back focused on the basketball practicing. Through working with Kids With Dreams I've learned the importance of introducing these kids with special needs to social situations so that they can mature and be able to do things more independently. I've also noticed that I've become more confident working with the kids because I feel they do look up to the coaches and respect what we say. All in all my experience at Kids With Dreams has helped me work on my leadership and ability to resolve conflicts and has helped me realize that for all of these kids, basketball is not the most important thing at Kids With Dreams, rather the friendships and social skills they gain are more important.

Advocacy Day

The main purpose of this internship is to use the information we learned in class to be applied to how we interact with people outside. On the third day of the YWCA internship, I went around hospitals in Oakland and multiple BART stations in Alameda County on behalf of the District Attorney's office to put up posters having to do with human trafficking. We had to use an app named Map 1193, which has a list of different places that need to have a poster up because it is required by law. It was an interesting experience because some places were a hundred percent willing, while other places said no because the topic was too heavy or because they need to get permission from a whole bunch of different people before they can say yes.

The rest of my internship with the YWCA will mainly consist of working on my advocacy project, which is to keep walking around and raising awareness, but also somehow making people at school more aware about the issue as well.