CTA Reflection Day

In what ways did the activity reflect any of the themes we have explored so far this semester? IN what ways did it reflect any of the values expressed in the hallmarks of the SNDs?

Unfortunately, I was not able to participate in a Call To Action activity due to the fact that I had to work and volunteer at the Table of Plenty. While a lot of students were volunteering in the different locations for Call to Action, I was working at the Boys and Girls Club at Hoover Elementary School. I am a mentor there and I help kids with their homework, teach a curriculum and engage with them in various activities. Working with kids at the Boys and Girls club is a very pleasurable experience and in a way i feel like I am giving back to the community. I feel this way because about 90 percent of the students are at risk students where a lot of them come from unstable homes or  come from families where their parents are working g two jobs and don't have someone there for them. A lot of these students don't know what college is and are not planning on attending. Mentors like myself try to emphasize the importance and provide them with resources that will help them prepare for college and try to emphasize that college for them is a possibility if they work hard in high school. I also enjoy working with these students because the majority of the population is Latino, so it reminds me of when I was a kid. The main reason why I choose to work in this organization is due to the fact that I want to make a difference in the latino communities and emphasize that it is possible for them to go to college. After work I also went to serve at the Table of Plenty. Serving at the Table of Plenty is always a phenomenal experience. Just knowing that as a volunteer we are making an impact in hundreds of peoples lives always makes me think of how grateful I am. Also just seeing a sense of community as seeing happiness in a lot of our guest brings warmth to my heart.

Working at the Boys and Girls Club reflects Hallmark number seven which implies that We develop holistic learning communities which educate for life. My co-workers and myself try to implement academic excellence and try to provide them with the resources to succeed academically and try to teach them how to responsible. We also actively support them whether it be academically, mentally, emotionally and other aspects. And even though they are at risk students we let them know that we are always here to support them even through adversity.

Serving at the Table of Plenty reflects most of the Hallmarks but the one that stood out to me was Hallmark number five. Hallmark number five states that we embrace the gift of diversity. When I first started serving at the table of plenty it was hard to embrace the gift of diversity. In my head I would think to myself that some of the people were weird but once i got to interact with them and actually got to know them, I realized they were good people. At the table of plenty we welcome everyone to our community, despite any differences.