Walking in I knew that this was a positive environment meant to strengthen young minds, volunteering here felt like it would be a rewarding experience.
The art room, a confined colorful place.
But I love this job, these children are our future and they need to be taken care of now so that we can be taken care of later.”(Doe)
My trip to a Boys & Girls Club of Indianapolis
Boom, a young girl 8 years of age flew off the scooter. Autumn slammed her face into the hard-sleek gym floor. She had only been on it for a few minutes and she had already hurt herself. She instantly frowned up her face. She howled throwing her small hands over her mouth and crippling over.
I began my adventurous day by going into the building to volunteer at what I thought would be an interesting experience. I chose to volunteer here because I would like to major in elementary education. Walking in I knew that this was a positive environment meant to strengthen young minds, volunteering here felt like it would be a rewarding experience. While there I met the directors of the club along with the person I would be shadowing. The scenery was interesting, and I hadn’t expected to see children running around everywhere freely. It was a Boys & Girls Club, not a daycare. However, it was set up in a way that each activity was in a different room. So individual games were played in the games room, gym activities in the gym, art-related projects in the art room and so on. The groups were split up by age and gender. So, the main distinction from the groups were girls stay with girls, boys stay with boys. There were five areas 7-8 girls went. The gym, games room, art room, upstairs, and the library.
Gym Room:
I watched as the girls played in the gym bouncing basketballs and shooting it into the hoop which was many feet taller than them. They also danced and ran around eating snacks of their own. Some chilled on the bench gossiping with their friends and playing with slime they weren’t supposed to have. One girl sat on a scooter and another pulled her by a rope sliding her across the gym floors. They fought over the very few scooters like candy, yelling, and crying. The scooters were wide and had four wheels, Autumn was on a yellow one. One of my favorite colors. Meg, also known as Megan, came over kneeling down to Autumn’s height asking, “Are you okay?”. Autumn shook her head no pointing to her lip. Supervision in the gym wasn’t the best either it was a ratio of 38 kids to 2-3 staff including me. Which is why it was no surprise that children got hurt. According to Stephen Laconte, a staff writer of BuzzFeed who once loved riding on the scooters in the gym believed “you risked breaking a finger every time you rode one..but it was worth it”. The kids loved those scooters and truth be told when I was their age I did too. Thinking back to my gym class I can remember times now where I hurt myself and got back on it forgetting all about it. Autumn, the young girl who was hurt earlier on a scooter was sitting on the bench, holding an ice pack against her swollen busted lip. The scooters were one of the kids' absolute favorites. Yet, they hurt themselves on the scooter countless times whether it be by playing or fighting over one.
Art Room:
We were in the art room, a confined colorful place. They made sun catchers which consisted of mainly tissue paper. It was meant to be hung on a window to project colorful strides of art into a room. The girls loved it, going crazy with scissors and glue. One of the young girls Saniyah, so sweet and goofy talked to me about her older brothers who loved rough playing. She wanted me to help her design her sun catchers in the way she had wished and we made multiple with the extra time we had. She made one for me allowing me to have it as something to take home with me.
Many experts argue that art can be a soothing form of expression and learning opportunity for children. In writing about how art can be a soothing expression for children Perri Klass M.D. author of Using Arts Education to Help Other Lessons Stick, argues “When children are younger, arts education helps develop their capacity for collaboration, for creativity, and even for asking questions” Klass claims that art can stimulate children by teaching them how to build relationships, creativity and how to express themselves more. Michele Norris agrees that children can learn a lot about themselves and others from art. “They look at the drawings and paintings these artists created when they were children…. Early childhood is a formative period. And Fineberg says that it shapes a personality and that the preoccupations and interests in a child set a course for adulthood.” According to Norris, allowing children to express themselves through art can help them explore creativity as well as learn more about themselves. Overall, both authors support the idea that art can be a great learning and growing experience for children, as well as help them develop their own creativity and personality at a young age.
Games Room:
Loud, open, and fun. The games room, an open space filled with pool tables, basketball hoops arcade games, air hockey, and loud music. The girls danced to their favorite songs one being 'Level Up' by Ciara. My phone was connected to a soundbar and the girls would come to me requesting different songs as I participated and supervised along with the room leader. They danced to their own rhythm, some girls played pool, some ping pong and card games. The girls’ version of the pool was just rolling around the balls against the table. A few girls begged me to play card games with them. We played card games the kids liked such as spoons, speed, and kemps. It was definitely the highlight of my day by far. Playing those card games with them was so interesting and funny. Bry’Air a sweet and tiny but mighty young girl free with so much spirit clung to me like a mosquito. She was a small little trouble-maker that always made me laugh and followed me. She liked to play four-square with me and ping pong. A few of the girls who were quiet and more introverted played JENGA, which allowed me to learn more about them and their backgrounds while playing with them. This Boys & Girls Club was very racially diverse and had some of the best kids.
Upstairs Room:
Together as a group, we walked up the stairs into what looked to be an attic the girls had immediately run over flinging their stuff against the wall. They checked themselves out in the large wall mirror which covered half of the wall. Immediate thoughts that ran through my mind was maybe they’d dance up here or learn karate since there was karate equipment. Instead, they’d played group games, mostly team building. Which was the biggest difference between this room and the games room, they had played games as a whole group up there. They had searched for as many words they could in a jumbo word-search to compete against the other grade groups. I sat down with them gently guiding them in the direction of words they had not found. After the word-search, they played a game called assassin which they all enjoyed. One person was the killer and they’d wink at somebody in the circle and that person would be dead requiring them to extend their feet out from previous criss-cross applesauce. Everyone wanted to be the assassin and the game kept going growing more challenging as we played.
Library and Computer Room:
My favorite room was the library. It was small but comfortable. The girls loved going into the back part of the room. They played on computers that were very slow and old. We played card games again, one they taught me called Jungle Speed. This game was fun and took a while for me to learn. Afterward. we played math bingo. The room leader called off addition problems and the kids counted on their fingers eager to cover a spot on their board. However, if anyone said the answer out loud nobody would get to cover that answer on their board.
Lastly, the end of the day was rally when everyone would come to the gym and they were broken up into different rooms by bigger age brackets. So, it’d be 5-7 girls in the art room, 11-12 boys in the games room and etc. Many of the staff left at 5, which is why they were broken up into many different rooms. Many of the kids were also gone by that time so it was easier to supervise and keep up with each child. During this time, I was able to talk to a few employees about the challenges and benefits of working with children in a setting such as the Boys & Girls Club. One employee stated “ This job is challenging in many ways. Many of the children deal with issues at home that cause issues here between children and those in authority. And with there being so many children it’s impossible to watch and protect them all from being hurt. But I love this job, these children are our future and they need to be taken care of now so that we can be taken care of later.” From what I could tell the kids loved the Boys & Girls Club as much as the staff if not more.
Throughout the day I interacted with many children who told me stories of where they're from and what they've been through. And the highlight of their days was being there playing with their friends, getting meals, and having fun activities to do throughout the day. Megan, a staff member who was in the gym when Autumn had hurt herself, stated “I cried. The girls I work with are challenging and have mean attitudes towards each other and me as well. I feel like with the proper training I could have handled behavioral management better as well as connect with the kids a bit better.” The age group she had was 9-10-year-old girls; they were in a vocal age range that often reflected on current emotions or hurt emotions. Dealing with behavioral management was new to me as well and with me being a volunteer they didn’t feel the need to listen to me or my direction. However, by the end of the day, they didn’t want me to leave. It took a lot leaving after building a relationship with so many of them which is why I felt the need to return.
Many educators believe that afterschool programs can help children in need as well as be a great change in their lives. In writing how Boys & Girls Clubs makes a positive change in children’s lives, Thomas Garth’s National Director Boy & Girls Clubs of America New York argues “Boys & Girls Clubs, as well as other youth organizations, make a difference in the lives of young people” Garth claims that youth organizations around the world make a significant amount of change in youths. Anya Kamenetz education correspondent at NPR agrees with Garth that after school programs could make a difference in young people. “Springboard runs after-school and summer programs with struggling readers in low-income elementary schools in 13 cities across the U.S…attends an hourlong workshop to help learn and practice the strategies students are learning in class.” According to Kamenetz after school programs are beneficial to children in the sense that not only are they stimulated by more play they also have an opportunity to learn and even get assistance with homework. Clearly both Garth and Kamenetz support the idea that after school programs can make a difference in all youth’s lives.
According to bgca.org “Within the first few minutes of walking into a Club, you know you’re in a special place. Filled with the sounds and energy of spirited children and friendly, caring professionals, the Club is a fun and hopeful environment.” Thinking back to the moment I first walked in the club the energy of the place, children, and staff was so positive. Volunteering was an honor, and something that was well needed for the staff and the kids as well and still is needed. Volunteering is a selfless act that can help out many, especially the Boys & Girls Clubs. “When you volunteer at a Boys & Girls Club, you can make a difference in the lives of youth and give back to your community.” Taking time to give back to not only the community but the children hands-on is significant. Children need people in their lives who are there for them and are role models in their life. Volunteering can do that. This was a fun experience one that I loved so much I kept going and eventually got hired! Building relationships with those kids was such an impactful experience. One that I believe anyone going into the field with children should check out.
Works Cited
“Boys & Girls Clubs Do Make a Difference.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Feb. 1991, www.nytimes.com/1991/02/22/opinion/l-boys-girls-clubs-do-make-a-difference-987291.html.
Doe, Jane. Personal interview. 29 June 2019.
Harris, Megan. Personal interview. 29 June 2019.
“Jungle Speed Game Rules.” UltraBoardGames, www.ultraboardgames.com/jungle-speed/game-rules.php.
Kamenetz, Anya. “What If You Could Change Your Child's Future In One Hour Every Week?” NPR, NPR, 22 Aug. 2019, www.npr.org/2019/08/22/753090600/what-if-you-could-change-your-childs-future-in-one-hour-every-week.
Norris, Michele. “'When We Were Young': Art That's Not Child's Play.” NPR, NPR, 7 July 2006, www.npr.org/2006/07/07/5529588/when-we-were-young-art-thats-not-childs-play.
“Stephen LaConte (Stephenlaconte) on BuzzFeed.” BuzzFeed News, www.buzzfeednews.com/author/stephenlaconte?language=en&start_from=1537742763&start_id=4897367&user_id=6055518&rebuzz_start_from=1532468423&rebuzz_start_id=4872267.
The New York Times, The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/by/perri-klass-md.
“Volunteer.” Boys & Girls Clubs of America - Providing Millions of Kids and Teens a Safe Place to Develop Essential Skills, Make Lasting Connections and Have Fun., www.bgca.org/get-involved/volunteer.