Final thoughts on service experience

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

The Carnegie Center: A Final Reflection

The Carnegie Center Logo

I have volunteered at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning for about three months now. As this experience is drawing to a close, I thought I'd share some thoughts about the center itself and also volunteer organizations in general. Because I have had only limited experience with this organization and indeed with organized volunteer groups in general, I would like to preface my opinion with the confession that I am no expert. This being said, here is my video reflection. 

 I fell in love with the Carnegie Center's building, gifted by Andrew Carnegie. Below is a photo of the gorgeous old building. 

This photo of the Carnegie Center found on University of Kentucky SeeBlue Website. 

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.

My Final Events

Early in November, we worked to set up the Carnegie Center's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas event. This was a very exciting project, as we played a part in turning the building from its normal library appearance to an atmosphere resembling the 1970's, when the book was set. To add elements from the book, we hung bats and other decorations that were mentioned in the book. We set up prize wheels, hung banners and set up tables in order to give the building into a completely look and feel for the night. Unfortunately, I was unable to work the event. However, I helped put the finishing touches on the preparation work, and the results were magnificent. Complete with a kindly-donated car resembling the one in the book, the building was truly transformed and the excitement was palpable as the event drew nearer. I was told it was a great success, which really vindicated all our efforts. 

The re-decoration of the front desk and the hanging banner were just a few of the new spins we put on the Carnegie Center to help them throw their annual book-themed party.

For my final hours, I worked an event which closely resembled our first one. The first event was dedicated to peace, while this final one was dedicated to Thanksgiving. I noted in September how inspiring it was to see children give their definitions of peace. Similarly, it was humbling to see what these children were thankful for. I saw children write that they were thankful for many things that I think most take for granted, such as warm beds and good food. We simply accept these things, given our relative privilege compared to the rest of the world. However, the children have not yet become cognizant of this privilege and see that these seemingly simply items are more than worthy of our appreciation. 
I truly am happy that I picked the Carnegie Center as my service learning organization. The effects of our contributions include providing children and families with wonderful nights of bonding and togetherness and transformed a library into a classic American novel set. I will always remember these experiences and wish the Carnegie Center the best of successes in their future events.

Video Reflection

     I have had the privilege of serving an organization designed to educate people. Despite scheduling issues and other difficulties, I am grateful to have an opportunity to serve other people. I am also thankful for Erica Cook, who has been patient and helpful in working things out so that we can fulfill class requirements. Attached above is a video of some of my thoughts about the Center and my experiences with it. 

     One pretty fascinating performance which they had during the International Eating and Reading Night was Capoeira, an African balancing game set to music. The music is intentionally designed to get caught in your head, so fair warning! Above is a clip of the performance. 

     The Carnegie Center is especially oriented around educating children. To this end, they have tutoring, family classes, and also they have authors come in to read their children's books. One child wrote this sweet thank you note, and this was really touching to me. 

Alecia Whitaker is an author originally from Kentucky. She now lives and writes in New York, but the Carnegie Center invited her to visit and read one of her books. 

     All this being said, I think that it would be easier to serve my community if it was not through a class. Without the pressure of class deadlines and confirmations of service, I believe that young people could help the community more effectively. I strongly encourage anyone to volunteer at the Carnegie Center in their free time.

Video Reflection: Setting Up for the Event

Above is my video reflection for the Carnegie Center. I explain what it was like to volunteer for the first time and discuss my feelings towards my service site. I am very pleased with the Carnegie Center and look forward to volunteering again.

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.

Video Reflection

Having worked one event thus far, my experience with the Carnegie Center is far from complete. However, we are also pretty far removed from our orientation and initial event, and this time has given me ample opportunity to reflect on my experience as a whole and prepare for my upcoming experiences with the Carnegie Center. In this video, I share some of my thoughts and opinions on the service learning project and the Carnegie Center specifically.

 Their annual book-themed party is occurring this weekend and preparations will be hectic. .

The novel for this year's event at the Carnegie Center is "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter Thompson. The 70's settings in the novel should make for an interesting and exciting event Saturday night.

This event has been a huge success in years past and I am excited to help continue its success over the next few days. 

Midterm reflection

Although I have only had the opportunity to be a part of one event hosted by the Carnegie Center, it is already evident to me what a large impact the organization has on the Lexington community. Upon entering a service learning class, it is clearly explained to each student how important it is to be involved in the various events that happen on and around campus for the good of the community. At that point in time I knew that my actions in the class would end up being beneficial for others in some way, because that is generally what comes to mind when people think of charity or volunteer work. After having spent a few hours at the Carnegie Center helping children do crafts in honor of national peace day, I now understand that doing volunteer work is not only good for others; it is good for me as well. When looking to learn from an experience, you have to take all the details into consideration. Keeping this in mind, I carefully payed attention to the children as they worked on their peace day projects. I noticed how they shared things, and helped each other by providing useful feedback and ideas that could be used to improve their creations. The children were unknowingly demonstrating the meaning of peace and harmony right in front of me. What was meant to be a lesson for the children had also become a lesson to me.

                                                          Children working together and with parents on crafts
 I can definitely say that this was an eye opening experience, and I can't wait to see what other fun events the Carnegie Center has in store for the remainder of the semester.

My First Event as a Carnegie Center Volunteer

     A few weeks ago, I went to the Carnegie Center to work my first event as a volunteer. I admit that I was not terribly excited to go; I had a lot of homework and another commitment of my time was going to affect how much work I could get done. However, I am really glad that I decided to work this event. It was a legitimately fun event to participate in. The event was held to commemorate the International Day of Peace, so we spent most of our time there helping the children that were in attendance with making cards and bracelets that had plenty of peace symbols on them. It was definitely a great experience; it was heartwarming to see the children create items that demonstrated what peace meant to them and proudly show off their creations to equally-proud parents and guardians.
     The kids were clearly having a great time, but I thought the most interesting part was seeing what the Carnegie Center had put together for the adults to do while their children were occupied. They brought in a man named Devine Carama to speak to the adults. Devine is a Lexington-based rapper who tries to preach positive messages to local kids and young adults through music. He also works closely with some local foundations (such as the Carnegie Center) and often speaks at events to spread his message. He had a very interesting method to attract people's attention: he freestyle rapped about the need to spread the message of peace to today's youth. After a few minutes of this, essentially all of the adults and even some of the kids had come to the room where he was speaking and listened to what he had to say. He spoke about how he has witnessed bullying and violence firsthand and was working constantly to put a stop to such actions. His speech was profound, truly heartfelt and clearly having an impact of some of the parents in the audience.

Devine Carama speaking to the adults in attendance about the importance of spreading the message of peace.

     After his speech, the Carnegie Center put together a dinner with the help of some local restaurants. It was a cool experience to see the children proudly donning their new bracelets or showing other children their cards, and it was also interesting to hear some of the parents talk about what they took away from Devine's talk. 

     Overall, this was a very positive first event to work. Everyone was having a nice, relaxed evening and learning a little more about what peace means and how we can spread the message of peace in our everyday lives. This was a great experience and I am looking forward to working another event there in the near future.

Saving Culture- Initial Reflections

     We live in a culture filled with zombies. We wonder around with our eyes glued on our phone screens and our minds driven about by every advertisement and flashing light. This aimlessness dulls our minds and our hearts. The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning fights this ever increasing trend in our culture. According to its mission statement, the center's main objective is essentially to help people learn about the literary arts and imaginative learning so that they can voice their own thoughts. I believe that this kind of learning is absolutely key in fighting the epidemic our culture is facing. 
     Their programs, centered around writing and literature, include classes in creative, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry writing as well as several language classes. For example, starting on the 30th of this month,  Renia Belmadani, a professor who believes strongly in the power of education, will be holding an Arabic class through the Carnegie Center. 
     There are also writing contests fairly regularly at the Carnegie Center. Below is a picture taken during the Gabehart Prize winner's reading. 

This photo was taken from the Instagram account of a volunteer at the Carnegie Center. 

     I have not yet gone to the center, but I am looking forward to working with such a unique and powerful program. You can learn more about this center through their Facebook, Twitter, and of course their website. 

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.