Final thoughts on service experience

The video below explains what I learned from my service experience.

Celebrating culture at the Carnegie Center

One of the things that I love most about the Carnegie Center is their acceptance of diversity. Actually, not only do they accept diversity, but they celebrate it. At the most recent event I attended at the Carnegie Center, they made it a point to do just this. We had the tables set up with crafts for the children, some of which were loosely based on thanksgiving, which was coming up soon. When the children came, we gave each of them a piece of construction paper that had been labeled to look like a passport. For each craft that they did, they would get a stamp on their passport. The kids made bracelets, colored, did origami, made head dresses, and made  turkeys out of foam and feathers.

                                     A turkey made by one of the children.

 I think that it would have been more meaningful to match the stamp at each table with a craft that was similar to something done in the place on the stamp to be more consistent with the idea of teaching diversity, but it was neat to watch the children discover different places they didn't know about. It was also interesting how many of them did not know what a passport was. After we did crafts, we watched a performance by “Music Works”, which is a small orchestra consisting of local children. Some of the children said that they had been practicing with their instruments for years, which astonished me because they didn’t look any older than 8 years old. Although I’ve never been into music that much, it was really impressive what those kids could do with instruments I didn’t even know existed when I was their age. Altogether, I enjoyed myself quite a bit more than expected. 

                                                                   A brief description of the events that took place.

Video blog reflection

I am now a little over halfway through this service learning course, and I have to say it is going a lot better than my previous experience with service learning, but there are also some things about it that i'm not so fond of, as I explain in my video reflection. I think that if I had voluntarily chosen to do work with the Carnegie Center, and wasn't trying to squeeze in volunteer hours around my classes and psychology research, that I would have had a much better experience. The experience that I have had so far has been very limited, as I have only attended one event, but it is very evident to me that the Carnegie Center is a great place for children to go if they need help outside of school. They have a passion for helping children and a love for literature that I have never seen before. Unfortunately, I am not able to attend the event they will be hosting this saturday, but if you are viewing this blog out of curiosity and want to see what great work the carnegie center does, I HIGHLY recommend that you check out this event; It should be fantastic, and carnegie classics are only hosted once a year.

Artistic representation of the classic novel "Fear and loathing".

The image above should give you a sense of the aura created by the book, which should be present this saturday at the carnegie center as well. I will be helping turn the inside of the carnegie center into what looks somewhat like the setting of the book. I believe that those who decide to attend this saturday are in for a treat.

Midterm Reflection

A service-learning class is something I have never participated in before and I was extremely excited to choose my site and begin volunteering as the course began; however, I have unfortunately not been able to volunteer yet and it is already half-way through the semester. Looking through the list of possible sites, I was immediately drawn towards the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. I have always enjoyed working with children and have spent the past five summers tutoring a young girl so I knew a site that dealt with education and young children was perfect for me. I was ecstatic when I discovered I was given my first choice and could not wait for my first visit. It was difficult to find a day our whole group could go together because of our conflicting schedules. We eventually found a day four of us could go, but unfortunately, it was the four members of the group without cars. After a long debate of whether we should walk or attempt to figure out the bus system, we decided to try the bus. We managed to miss our first bus and ended up having to walk half-way across campus to get to another bus stop. We waited at least forty minutes in the blazing heat for a bus with no idea if it would actually show up or not.

                                          Waiting for the bus to take us to the Carnegie Center.

The bus eventually pulled up and we all climbed on, eager to escape the heat and finally make it to the Carnegie Center. However, we were greeted with glares and rude comments from the bus passengers. None of us were expecting to get harassed on public transportation that day so we hopped off on the nearest stop and walked the rest of the way. Once we finally made it to the Carnegie Center, we met with Erica, the volunteer coordinator and she explained our roles for the semester. The organization did not really need volunteers until late October and November because that is when they host their main charity event. They expressed how important it was that we were available to volunteer for many hours during those few weeks because there is lots of preparation that goes into this event. After discussing our volunteering roles, Erica gave us a tour of the Carnegie Center. It was very interesting getting to see first-hand how their organization helps children and adults in the community. 

Although we had a difficult time getting there, we were all impressed with the Carnegie Center and were excited to start volunteering. I am very excited to finally get the chance to actually help with the Carnegie Center during the next week by assisting with their charity event. I look forward to finally getting the chance to having a first-hand effect on this wonderful organization. 

My Midterm Service Learning Reflection

My experience thus far at the Carnegie Center has been extremely positive. I have only worked one event so far, but I have been impressed by the sense of community that I feel around this place. Building a true sense of community anywhere can be difficult, but especially so in a place where so many people are strangers to one another. The staff has done an excellent job creating an environment in which strangers can come together, connect and learn from another. They take pride in building a strong community, and their joy is infectious. I also felt a sense of pride and joy knowing that I had been able to contribute to the sense of community that the Carnegie Center creates.

This is the aftermath of a dinner preceded by an event meant to promote peace and community and is an example of one of the many ways in which the Carnegie Center brings people together.

I was unsure of what to expect going into the service learning experience. When I was told that part of what we would be doing may involve transporting books and helping set up for events, I was worried that I would not be able to take much away from the experience. However, after being given the opportunity to interact with the people that come to the Carnegie Center, I have been very pleased with the experience. It was incredible to watch children illustrate through bracelets and art activities their understanding of peace. Their illustrations of peace have served as a reminder to me that peace often comes down to simply respecting who other people are. The children did not care about the ethnicity or background of the people they interacted with and their ability to interact without any sort of prejudice inspired me to reflect upon myself and try to rid myself of any prejudices that I hold. 

These children interacting so freely with one another is a great example of what peace truly is and helped me reflect on how I can follow their examples in my daily life.

Going forward, I intend to use the lessons about peace and community that I have learned through my interaction with these people in my own life. I am excited to go back and help with their upcoming events and hopefully gain more invaluable experiences working in such a genuinely heartwarming environment.

Initial Written Reflection

The CARNEGIE CENTER

of Lexington Kentucky 

MISSION STATEMENT:

"The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning empowers people to explore and express their voices through imaginative learning and the literary arts."

               
As a center for literacy, Carnegie has created some goals that all their programs incorporate. Promoting learning in all age groups through fun and interactive activities that develop reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and technological skills is what they live by. Not only are community members welcome and encouraged to come gain something from the Carnegie center, but also artists and authors as well, especially local ones. 

The importance of the building itself, pictured below is true to Carnegie as well as it was to the original Lexington public library.

This photo was obtained from the Carnegie Center twitter  page which posts updates about upcoming events and informs followers of news and announcements at the Carnegie Center. It is a great way to see what they have going on currently rather than looking through their website to try to find basic information about current activities of theirs. 

  The Carnegie Center is known for providing rich and prevalent opportunities for writers and most recently they had an event for women's writers called The Yellow Wallpaper Project. This event was pretty simple but powerful and it involved a cork board full of yellow post its with degrading things about female writers that have been said and people were asked to take one down in exchange for something positive and encouraging that accurately depicts female writers. By the end of the week the wall was filled with positive pink notes. This is one example of the great interactive aspects at the Carnegie Center.

Above are Instagram posts from community members who have participated in the various events Carnegie has to offer. Although the Carnegie Center does not have it's own Instagram account, they have a location which is still searchable through the app.

First impression of the Carnegie Center

                The service organization that I am going to be dedicating my time to this semester is the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. I have not yet been able to visit the Carnegie Center, but I look forward to attending my orientation on Thursday, September 17. From what I have gathered online, my volunteer work will consist mainly of organizing bookshelves, helping with crafts, and assisting with an event that will be held at the Carnegie center on November 7^th called “Carnegie Classics: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” inspired by the classic novel written by Hunter S. Thompson in 1971. The event features a band called “The Other Brothers” who will be playing psychedelic rock from the 70’s, a drag show, and other activities inspired by the novel.

The goal of the Carnegie center is to help people grow and expand their knowledge of culture and literacy as well as express themselves through art.  They offer lessons in foreign languages, tutoring, and have numerous groups for writers, book lovers, poetry enthusiasts, artists, and much more. 

 I look forward to my volunteer work at the Carnegie Center because I think it will be a great opportunity to reach out to the Lexington community and get to know some people outside the university. I also think that it is a great way to learn skills that I can use later in my college career that I may not have the ability to learn in a classroom setting.

Initial Impression

The service site I will happily be investing my time into this semester is the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. Although I have not yet gotten the chance to visit, I plan on attending an orientation this Thursday, September 17. Something that really caught my interest when deciding between service sites were the visionary goals of the Carnegie Center which include:

• Encourage active, critical, and creative learning
• Promote the components of literacy, including reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, & technology
• Provide educational opportunities for people of all ages and levels of learning
• Establish partnerships with artists, educators, and community groups
• Support and promote Kentucky writers and artists
• Engage the imagination through literary arts
• Preserve and enhance the historic Carnegie building for the benefit of the community

These goals reflect the Carnegie Center really well and truly expose the focus of this organization. 

 I have studied the website for a glimpse of what I might be helping with and have been pleasantly surprised. It appears that most of my volunteer work will deal with stocking book shelves, helping with arts and crafts, and offering assistance with the Carnegie Classics: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas event that is happening in November. This event offers a night filled with fun entertainment such as an exciting performance by The Other Brothers, a drag show, a Vegas-style buffet and art inspired by cult classic, Hunter S. Thompson. As a volunteer, I would be helping with registration, ushering, serving non-alcoholic drinks, and cleaning. 

I am looking forward to the orientation Thursday and getting a chance to help out the Lexington community in a unique way!

My Initial Impression of the Carnegie Center

     Though I have not yet visited the Carnegie Center, I can honestly say that I am excited to begin the process of service learning when I go for my orientation this Thursday. I think that this experience will be very worthwhile and help me learn in ways inaccessible through an ordinary classroom. Since I have not been able to visit yet, I have tried to familiarize myself with the organization by reading about it online. Using these means, I have discovered much about the Carnegie Center and this new information has made me very excited to volunteer there.

The Carnegie Center is an organization dedicated to helping people find new ways to express their true selves. I thought that I would be working in a library-like environment, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there is so much more to the Carnegie Center. The Carnegie Center will help you read and write better if that is all you desire. However, they are willing to help you in much more ways than that. Their true mission is to help you find the best way to express yourself, so they offer myriad opportunities to discover how best to express yourself. These opportunities include learning to be a better playwright, learning other languages and so much more (a more detailed list of opportunities can be seen here: http://carnegiecenterlex.org/workshops/special-interests/). Essentially, the Carnegie Center aims to help people learn more about themselves through the literary arts. This is a mission that I would love to assist. 

Book club meetings are just one of the many ways through which the Carnegie Center helps people connect and learn.

I am very excited to begin this service learning experience and try to relate my experiences there to the lessons I learn in the classroom. I also hope to be able to take lessons away from this experience and use those lessons on a day-to-day basis in my life as a whole and not simply leave those experiences in the classroom. To get a more in-depth look at the Carnegie Center and a better understanding of why I am so excited to volunteer there, you can access the organization's website or Twitter. I am looking forward to starting this Thursday.