Chrissy's Reflection

At first, the thought of visiting Our Next Generation and working with kids seemed like it was going to be rough. After the first visit, things were looking a whole lot different. Not only did the time fly, but learning about how many people the organization helps, parents and students alike, was astounding. The organization is a precious resource for the community it surrounds, as it provides free after-school activities for students, as well as tutoring, fieldtrips, and sometimes even snacks. It was shocking to think that such an organization is able to run solely on the help it gets from volunteers, and even that it could get so much volunteer support on a daily basis.
Although Our Next Generation hosts a variety of clubs and activities, the one that I got the most experience with was the Homework Club, specifically the section available to elementary school students. It was a strange feeling to be tutoring someone from that age group as I do not normally interact with kids of that age. It was also interesting to see the kids’ point of view of the organization. Obviously they were not to thrilled about working on homework (but who is?) However, the kids seemed to enjoy having adults to help them with their homework issues, and maybe even play a game or two with them. It was also neat to see how many people were willing to volunteer a little part of their night to doing something so helpful. The organization is clearly making strides forward to help educate the kids in the community, and to give them a nice place to go after school until their parents can pick them up.
The service learning experience was very gratifying. It was nice to know that we were helping the organization tutor at least one student out of the many that spend their after-school time there. It was an interesting and educational experience not only to learn about the organization itself, but to break down the wall between the known and unknown about the community. From an outsiders’ point of view, the community might not seem like one of the best “quality,” but upon looking closer, you realize that the people within it have big hearts and are always looking for ways to improve their community.