Impacting our Community

In October I started two new English clubs.  Instead of just practicing English, I wanted us to focus on volunteering in our community.  We spent October getting to know each other and participating in some team building activities.  In November we started talking about the problems we see around us and brainstorming some ideas of things we could do to make a difference in our community.  The goal is to have at least one volunteering opportunity each month for each group (morning and afternoon).  I wanted them to take initiative and do the planning and preparation.  It has been fun to see what they have come up with.

Since this could be a lot, I'm going to split it into two posts to share about each of the projects separately.  It's fun to watch the youth give back to their communities.  

The morning group felt strongly about trying to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking.  As a result, they came up with the idea of going around town and trading people in the community an item (lollipop, gum, chocolate, or apple) for their cigarettes.  They also searched online for some pictures that demonstrated the harmful effects of smoking.  They spent an hour or two walking around town trying to impact people's lives.  

As we talked about their time, they were frustrated.  They felt like their project wasn't very successful.  They found that most people didn't take them seriously.  They were laughed.  Some people refused to make the exchange.  Others made the exchange because they were youth.  Overall though, they recognized that even those who exchanged cigarettes for another item, didn't change their thinking at all.  

Although it was challenging for them, I think this will give us a chance to learn from our mistakes as we move forward.  They will have the opportunity to learn how to be effective change makers in their community.  I look forward to seeing how they will grow throughout the year.