The organization that I volunteered with is the YMCA of Central Florida. This organization has been in central Florida since 1885 and has served the members of the community for many years. They offer many programs for all ages including exercise classes, before and after school programs, summer camps, sports camps, and many more. The YMCA is open to all members of the community. They have locations all over the country and several in the Orlando area.
For my service learning I worked in the before and after school program. This program provides a place for parents or guardians to place their child while they are at work for an affordable price. The YMCA offers scholarship money to those who cannot afford to pay in an attempt to never turn down a child for any reason. During my time with the organization I engaged in many activities with the children. I supervised and participated in activities such as sports, arts and crafts, and computers. I also helped children with their homework and tutored them on subjects they needed help with. I completed my service learning hours by attending eight times during the semester.
The children I worked with were in elementary school and the ages ranged from five-thirteen. Most of the children in this program were of a Hispanic background and spoke a mixture of English and Spanish. There where children with exceptionalities and without. The individuals that did have disabilities were classified as such based on the Individuals with disabilities Education Act. There were three children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, one child with a behavior disorder, and another child who had a physical impairment that required her to use a wheelchair.
Unfortunately I could not get permission to show any kids in my pictures but I was able to get pictures of myself volunteering in the program. The picture on the right shows me preparing spin art for the children. This was one of the activities we did during arts and craft time. The picture on the left shows me participating in something called counselor challenges. The counselors would represent a group of kids a compete on behalf of them
When I first started the service learning I was not too excited with the idea. I did not really want to take time out of my busy schedule to do this but I am so glad I did. It was extremely hard in the beginning to work with children who had special needs. I was extremely terrified of saying or doing the wrong thing. I was also a little worried that I would not be able to handle it. But, as time when by It got easier and I really enjoyed going. Even though the service learning is over I am still continuing to help out with the program. One of the most rewarding experience was helping a child with Autism, who was very socially reserve, make friends. Every time I was there he would come to the cafeteria afterschool and go sit down in his corner away from everyone in his group. With a lot of slow introductions and social interaction with his classmates he did a complete 180. Now when he comes into the cafeteria, he runs in with a smile and immediately wedges himself between his friends and starts talking. Every time I see this I just can not help but smile.
I completed the service learning hours for my Introduction to special education course. Three topics from this course that I better understand now due to my service learning are Autism Spectrum disorder, IEPs, and inclusion. Autism spectrum disorder are groups of disorders with characteristics such as communication, social, and behavioral hardships. I was able to gain experience with working with Autistic children during my service learning. Another topic that I gained knowledge of were Individualized Education Plans which are education plans for children classified as having a need for it. I was able to get teachers in the school to help me better understand IEPs and what they accomplish. The last thing I learned was the concept of inclusion because the program was a mixture of children with disabilities and children without. This service learning gave me a start to my experience that I will need in order to be a special education teacher.
Volunteering and being engaged in your community is a great experience and everyone should do it at some point in their life. You are not only helping the community but you are also helping your self by becoming a better person. You can learn so much by having this hands on experience. I liked volunteering so much that I am going to continue doing it and I would recommend all students participate in service learning because hands on experience is the best way to learn.
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