Special Olympics with Credit Union Association

Hi my classmates!
I am doing my internship in Pawtucket Credit Union (PCU). I am shadowing Mrs. Rojas -a Community Development officer. Last Friday, there was the Rhode Island Special Olympics took place in URI. Not only the officers of PCU but those of the Credit Union Association of Rhode Island came to help and to have fun with those who are a lot less fortunate than us. There were 1,500 athletes with intellectual disabilities and closely related developmental disabilities; meanwhile, there were approximately 500 volunteers. Our job was to assist the athletes since they entered the Old gym until they started to compete in the indoor track gym. We took the athletes to register and lined them in groups of each event or in teams. For teammates, we helped them put on team’s shirts and numbers in order. Then we either took the athletes into the indoor track gym to compete or waited for other teams to finish until it was our turn. Doing this job and communicating with the athletes, I realized that although the athletes are disabled, sometimes are over-emotional and are having difficulties in controlling themselves, they are very kind, naïve, friendly and passionate in what they are doing. They focused, tried hard and determined to get the medals. The athletes have their talents in sports and desire to have such an Olympics just like normal people do. Though we were worn out by walking back and forth, standing, energetically talking to the athletes all day, I could see the joys and excitement of the athletes as well as their families and I felt that it was so worthwhile to be a contribution that made the Special Olympics possible.
-Hana-

Cape Cod (May 18th-May 22nd)

CAPE COD GIRLS said...
Today, the cape cod girls went to Habitat for Humanity. Even though we had to wake up really early and had a 8 hour day, it was well worth it. We meet tons of people who live on the Cape all year round and want to help their community. We meet several women and men that build house every tuesday and saturday. They were very excited to see young new faces (they are all retired and enjoying life.) What surprised me the most was that when i asked the people what they did, i got a wide variety of professions. One man comes every tuesday but on the other days, he makes his own software. When i asked him why he is doing it, he simply replied because working with a chainsaw was fun. Another woman who was working there is actually going to recieve one of the houses and said that she has been working on these houses since april. It was nice to see the sense of community in this small team working to help others build a future.
It was a long, hard day but we all felt like we had completed something worth while. I can't wait to come back in the future to see the actually houses we helped build (we put about 20 window frame/door frames together). I am looking forward to tomorrow when we go to the WE CAN group which helps abused and unemployed women get their lives on track and feel empowered.

-Kathryn Veale (Cape Cod)

May 19, 2009 4:26 PM

CAPE COD GIRLS said...
Today, the cape cod girls went to We Can. Today was not a hard working day compared to yesterdays but todays meeting was one of the most interesting meetings I have sat in on listening to Arlene Kirsch who is the Directior of We Can. We Can is an organization that focuses on Women impowerment.
" Helping Cape Cod women help themselves" is the quote the mentors focus on to help out the women who have a little bump in their lives. We Can has a group called " Pathmakers" which is a group of women who meet with mentors as much as needed and sit with them and listen. The mentors are not there to fix anything that is wrong in their lives but they are there to listen, give them any type of advice they can give and also to be very supposrtive with whatever they decide to do with their lives. This program is to help boost the sel-esteem in women. Another group they have is for the younger women. Women between 18-25 yrs old. This is a group to help guide 18 yr olds pick the right careers and start ont eh right path before they start going int eh wrong direction. But I am really looking foward to activites planned for the day tomorrow.

May 20, 2009 10:55 PM

CAPE COD GIRLS said...
Today, the Cape Cod Crew had a great day enjoying two different activities. Waking up at seven thirty this morning the crew went to Mass Audobon to search for Horseshoe crabs.This is important for reasearch because this type of animal is going extinct because people are using them for bait and their blood for medicine. Our group of four split up into two and we searched every foot of the beach (at high tide) to count the number of horseshoe crabs. This event was alot of fun because we got to meet two wonderful women who were doing it with us, and it was very educational because we learned how horseshoe crabs mate and we actually got to see it! Following this activitie, we ate a quick lunch and went to the Family Pantry in Harwich Cape Cod. There we divided food into different categories and helped box them. Today was a great learning axperience and was very satisfying for the soal.

-Heather

May 21, 2009 3:47 PM

CAPE COD GIRLS said...
On friday of our busy week, the cape cod girls had a very exciting day! The first of our two activities planned for the day consisted of waking up at 7 and heading about a half an hour away to work with the national seashore. Our day began with meeting a number of park rangers who were thrilled to have us on site. Next Barbara Dougan, a Cape Cod National Seashore Education specialist, informed us that we would be working with a group of 35 fourth graders from a local school. Our group of 4 girls was then split and placed into three groups, each of which was paired up with a park ranger. We then were instructed in and helped to run three activity groups for the children. Although weary at first about our knowledge of the plants and creatures along the beach, the morning turned out to be nothing less than wonderful. Not only was it a great experience to work with the children, but I think that I speak for all of the cape cod girls when I say that we all learned a great deal from both the rangers and the students.
After leaving the site of the field trip, and having a quick lunch, the real fun began. We took a van with Pat, a park ranger, and headed toward Provincetown. In Provincetown we were able to see a fin whale that had washed up the night before. It was about 4 or 5 years old, and it was concluded that it had died while still out at sea. The whale was about 45 feet long! We were able to get right up close to the whale, and it was absolutely amazing! Once we had seen the whale we headed back to Harwich, and were able to see a few of the many gorgeous beaches along the way!


-MacKenzie

May 27, 2009 6:26 PM

Sara Fich NH Trip

Hey! We came back from Hebron on Saturday, after a great week. Each day was different, because we would help out different people and different groups each day. We raked, cleaned, planted, mowed, emptied a pool, washed dishes, polyurethaned walls, and about a million other things. We had a great time with everything, because everyone we helped out was so sweet and enthusiastic, and really appreciated our help. One of the most memorable times was the first day, where Sarah T., Ms. Young and I went to help a woman named Jane, who, in addition to having lost family members, was also undergoing chemotherapy. We helped her ready a garden for planting, and helped her empty her above ground pool. It took a lot of work to just find the right tools, and we learned some valuable lessons, such as "water is wet." Sarah even created a game of racing dandelions in the stream, which really brightened Jane's day. Throughout the week, we did so many things, making soup to deliver to those who needed it, painting the window frames in a church, and getting our hands covered in polyurethane when we readied a bathroom for incoming campers. The camp, called the Circle Program, is a camp for at risk girls. We even got to spend a day at the local elementary school, where we decorated the cafeteria and spent time in the kindergarten and first grade. As I said before, our help was appreciated, and we had so much fun doing our work.
We stayed at Michelle's house in New Hampshire, and, living together, managed to divide the tasks of cooking somewhat evenly, and had so much fun playing games, holding random dance parties, and even having a campfire. Every part of the trip was fun, and we hope to continue relations between Lincoln and Hebron.

Laurel Hill School, Room 4

So, I have been at Laurel Hill for 5 days so far and I have three left. I have been working in Room 4, a 5th grade class, with Mrs. Celio and her 22 students. All of the kids are great and have been very welcoming and friendly. So far, I have realized how lucky I am to go to Lincoln and have the caring family and friends that I do have. A lot of these kids come from difficult lifestyles and have little to no support at home. Being able to go to Laurel Hill everyday has been a privilege. Being able to help these kids, whether it be with their art projects, writing, reading, or just to be able to talk to, has been something I want to do more and more everyday. Being at Laurel Hill has also been very frustrating. When I drive home everyday I have a yearn to pack all 22 of the students in my car and give them a safe ride home, but I know I can't intervene with their lives. I want to bring some of them breakfast in the morning or buy each and every one of them their own pack of pencils. I always take my car for granted as something I will always have, I always opt to not eat breakfast when a lot of these kids don't have that choice, and I always have had ample amounts of pencils both in the classroom and at home. The way some of these kids live is unfair, the information these kids know about sex, drinking, and drugs, is insane, and the the way that I can't fix any of it on my own frustrates me. I know that the impression I make on these kids is semi-permanent. Some of them don't remember the name of their teacher last year, but they do remember meeting Margo and how she went to China, or Brie and that her real name was Gabriella and every single sport she played. I don't think I will ever know how big of a change I have made in their lives.

Hebron NH, Sarah Tenney

Hey there! It's Sarah Tenney. I just got home from the New Hampshire trip! Mechelle, Jess, Sara FK, Roby, Ms. Young, and I went to Hebron where we organized a trip through the church. Reverend Ficher helped us set up a week where we did several different things: helping elderly members of the community with chores and yard work they were unable to do, working at the church soup kitchen, helping at the local elementary school, painting the church, and fixing up a camp- The Circle Program for at risk girls- before they arrived for the summer. Although I had a lot of fun at each different place we worked, I had the most fun when we were able to interact directly with the people we were helping. Mr. Wayland was one of the elderly people we helped out. He had an amazing garden in his back yard. He had some back problems and couldn't bend down to plant the seed this year so we were able to do it for him. We also got to learn a lot about the different vegetables he grew and his techniques for planting them. He said he had grown up on a farm and had always kept a garden. I even got to drive his tractor! Another aspect of this trip was that we had no Internet or TV for the entire week. This turned out to be one of the greatest parts of the trip, we all brought along our favorite games and played Settlers, Pit, Uno, cards, and Sorry each week. The trip turned into a great bonding experience and a lot like summer camp! Although we only spent a week, I think our work had a lasting impression on those we helped, not only did we help with yard work or cleaning, but we also brought the people we helped laughs and had a great time no matter what we were doing. For example, Jane was a woman we helped- she needed us to do some yard work and help her drain her pool. When we were draining the pool there wasn't much to do but to sit and wait for the water to lower so we could clean it and while we were waiting I decided that we should race dandelions down the stream of water. Jane was laughing the whole time and we all had a lot of fun. She lived alone and I think she enjoyed our company more than anything. Later Reverend Ficher told us that everyone in town we had either helped or had herd the stories from our adventures. I think our time in Hebron showed that Lincoln girls can really make a difference in people's lives and that we can have fun doing it.

Greenbush Elementary

Hey everyone, it's Michelle Fontaine. I am doing my service project at Greenbush Elementary school in West Warwick, Rhode Island. I am currently shadowing and helping the art teacher, Mrs. Cosgrove. She teaches all day long and sometimes after school. Helping her has been a great experience because I get to see what it is like being an art teacher, but I also get to be around her students and get to know them. Even though it has been only four days into my senior project, I will be sad to leave them all because the students have been so kind and funny, I never want to leave them. The best part about being there is that I can use my art major skills in order to help the kids get to understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. I get to demonstrate activities, like finger painting and drawing. Currently all the grades are working on some amazing projects. The kindergarten classes are finger painting. The first grade and second grade are making line monsters. The third grade are making puppets. The fourth grade are making hot and cold pictures and finally, the fifth grade are one-point perspective drawings. I am able to help each grade get a fuller understanding of what they are doing and how to do it, which is a great feeling for me. Anyways I have 5 days left and I am hoping to make the best out of it.

Michelle Fontaine

Looking forward to hearing from all of you!

Several girls are already at work at Laurel Hill School this week. I will check in on them on Thursday. The principal there, Dorothy Smith, is very welcoming and this is a great school!

I am looking forward to hearing from the class of 2009 this week and hear about all of your internships. Good luck!

Mrs. Sweeney