first week of service

This week we spent a lot of time training, going to workshops, visiting schools (LOTS of walking around LA; I have the blisters to prove it), and learning about every aspect of City Year.

Day 1 (Tuesday)

I walk into the office with my roommate and there are about 30 people, both staff and senior corps members, fully clad in their yellow City Year jackets, Timberland pants and boots, dancing, clapping, and singing, welcoming us to our first day of service. It was a little intense yet the atmosphere was so contagious! It even made me want to dance, but I refrained because, after all, it was only the first day…

We were given a warm welcome by our Executive Director, Allison Graff-Weisner, who told us a little bit about what to expect over the next 10 months. The following video takes a more in depth look at the work that we do here at City Year.

After this we traveled to Pico Union where we did a big service project at The Salvation Army Los Angeles Red Shield Youth & Community Center. The administrators working at the center were planning to do a mountain of work with only 8 people, expecting it to take them a few weeks to complete. Instead, 150 of us finished all of the work in one day. It was so powerful for all of us to come together and see the tangible results of our service!

Day 2 (Wednesday)

Power and Idealism are our big themes here at City Year and learned a little about them. Our handbook reads, "We define power to be the civic power that is attainable by everyone. You do not have to be in an authority position in order to inspire other to action. One can perform powerfully in a variety of ways, but you must possess four qualities in order to be effective: spirit, discipline, purpose, and pride. At City Year, we take idealism very seriously, even as we pursue it with joy. We begin by rejecting the notion that idealism is just a positive mindset or attitude (although both are helpful and important) or simply being naïve. Instead, at City Year we view idealism as skills—imagining, recruiting, transforming, and inspiring—that can be mastered and put into practice. The culture of idealism is perhaps the most critical element in City Year’s success, and embracing it—even enhancing it—is essential to each individual’s success at City Year.”

Day 3 (Thursday)

Today we learned about “Unity Rally,” something that we will be doing every Friday morning for 10 months in the middle of downtown at a place called Pershing Square, one of the most public places in all of Los Angeles. A Unity Rally includes a “readiness check” to ensure everyone is prepared both mentally and physically. They help us prepare for a powerful day of service and demonstrate that young people are not only proud, positive, and powerful but also ready to serve and lead.

We also learned about the potential assignments each of us would receive. This includes the Civic Engagement Team, Youth Corps, and Whole School Whole Child:

The Civic Engagement Team will plan and implement large scale service days throughout Los Angeles. The main goals of the team are to ensure that all service is transformative, inspirational, and sustainable. Responsibilities of the team include, but are not limited to, planning and creating the service, recruiting volunteers, and organizing all aspects of the Service Day. This is also the most competitive assignment because there are only 7 spots and there are 150 corps members (of course this is what I put as my first choice).

Youth Corps is a Saturday leadership development and community service program for sixth to eighth graders and high schoolers that is run by City Year corps members. Participants learn about the social issues in their community and then work together to solve those problems through hands-on community service (this was my fourth choice).

Each Whole School Whole Child team will work in one of our partner schools, focusing on serving students at-risk of dropping out (as indicated by attendance, behavior, and course performance) through academic support, positive school climate activities, and after-school programming. Corps Members serve in elementary and middle schools in Pico Union, Boyle Heights, South Los Angeles, and Watts (these were my second and third choices).

Day 4 (Friday)

I can already tell that Fridays will soon become my favorite day of the week because they will be spent in the office, and we start at 9 am and end at 4 pm! We learned about our Standards as Corps Members and things we can and can’t do. For example, we can’t wear headphones while in uniform. We also have to give up our seat on a bus or train if there are people standing.

Opening day is September 30, 2009 (Wednesday) where 150 of us will pledge to serve the children and communities of Los Angeles. The speakers will be Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Superintendent Ramon Cortines and it will take place on the South Lawn of Los Angeles City Hall at 9 am. If you’re in the LA area, I’d love for you to come! Ask me for details. :-)

That’s it for now. We don’t work on Monday but we’ll be having our Basic Training Retreat in Big Bear Lake, CA from Wednesday through Friday. Here we will learn about our teams that I mentioned earlier so hopefully I get my first choice (fingers crossed!)

Have a great rest of the holiday weekend!