Charleston, S.C. - 9.17.09 - By Grant Hooper
On September 17th, Care Force was lucky enough to host an event in Charleston, South Carolina with T-Mobile at the Trident Area Shaws Unit Boys and Girls Club. Two members of Care Force, Senior Project Manager Vanessa Meisner and Senior Corps Member Grant Hooper, along with 8 members of City Year Columbia prepared the project and led as project coordinators.
The Shaw Unit Boys and Girls Club is located on 22 Mary Street, in the heart of Charleston. While most Boys and Girls Club serve a variety of ages, the Shaw Unit has recently switched its programming to focus on local teenagers. The Boys & Girls Club has everything from mentoring and tutoring, to homework help, a basketball program, and a successful recording studio that is open to the youth. The studio was graciously donated by Carolina Studios to provide an outlet for the teenagers to express themselves musically with help from recording industry professionals. Another program they have is the “Reading Soul Mates” in which mentors encourage reading through library time, and provide homework help to children. The area in which the Shaw Unit serves is considered to be the 8th most dangerous place to live in America. Therefore the programming that the club provides is essential to the underserved youth in the area.
Prep week was a great time as usual but especially so because it provided a training ground for many of the City Year Columbia corps members. Out of the eight corps members that came on the trip, six were first year corps or first year senior corps members. We were able to help teach the basics of physical service including taping and tarping; mural sketching; and how to be an effective project coordinator. One story that stood out was the prepping of the T-Mobile Huddle Up Zone and adjacent computer room. During the prep, all of us were able to work in the same room as a team to complete a common goal. Since it happened on the first day it really helped set the tone for a successful week of prepping that utilized the strengths of the team.
Prep week flew by and before you knew it, event day was upon us. It was fun to see over 150 T-Mobile volunteers run off the busses full of energy and begin their day with some powerful PT. For a lot of the volunteers it was the highlight of their day as they were able to loosen up by doing jumping jacks, foot fires and front-side-backsides-fronts that prepared them for an energetic day of service. The volunteers were able to complete a lot of work that day including painting murals in the gym, repainting both the floor and the walls in two bathrooms, painting two large outdoors murals, building benches and creating a teen specific room that served as the T-Mobile Huddle-Up Zone. One touching moment came at the end of the day when Michael Washington, a member of City Year Columbia, put the final touches on a mural in the game room with help from one of the girls that utilized the club.
It was a wonderful day that saw a huge transformation in nearly every room of the club. The T-Mobile volunteers worked hard and were able to leave the day satisfied with the service they had completed.
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