Our First Day of Community Service
98 students and staff from 21 countries with 98 unique identities and have come together as Cast A 2011 We’ve been together for one month and one day. It’s our first official day on the road and we are in Orlando, Florida.
For many, today is their first day working in the communities. We’ve heard stories of the impact we’ll make but we have yet to see it first hand. Today we discovered that the simple act of listening to other’s stories can inspire. Simple activities such as tag, drawing or minor chores such as washing walls can mean the world in the eyes of a child. Our one-day effort has consequences that are larger than we can imagine, just like pebbles tossed into a pond. We worked at three different remarkable organizations: PACE, Give Kids the World and United Cerebral Palsy (UCP). These are our stories…
16 students had the opportunity to spend the day at PACE, an early intervention program, serving at risk girls ages 12-18. It’s an alternative school with sites in 17 locations throughout Florida. PACE aids girls who come from difficult life situations with a safe and supportive environment “to find a path back to hope” (pacecenter.org).
Our cast listened to the girls and shared stories about their lives. Sydnee from Colorado, USA remarked that it “took a really long [time] for them to warm up to us… [and yet] we broke down [the] walls that they'd put up. By the end of the day, the girls had trusted us, almost strangers still, with their heart-wrenching… stories, how they have overcome their past and how they're working hard for their own future.” Chelsea Ochoa from San Diago California explains, “We gave them an opportunity to have a voice. Gave them a place to share and told them that their dreams are possible.” At the end of the day Sydnee told me that she “left feeling totally and completely inspired by these girls, all who were younger than me.”
Several students from Pace came to see our show on Saturday. I had the opportunity to meet a few and chat briefly with them. They described their experience as “amazing!”
A number of other students spent the day at Give Kids the World. Give Kids the World is a program for terminally ill children and their families. While many of our activities were simple, such as mopping or polishing, it enabled the community to save its money to help bring more children and their families to this amazing facility. “After hearing how the program works and how many people they’ve helped, they house nearly 200 families at a time…” remarks Michelle Kauffers from Brewer Maine. It inspired us to do more. She met a family with a 6-year-old boy at the ice cream palace. “The father came in with a video camera and asked us to say hi to their Uncle Bud who’s never been able to join the family trip… we were cleaning and clowning around with the kid, just having a good time. After they left we realized that we didn’t know how much longer he’d be alive.” As she speaks tears crest the corner of her eyes and her voice cracks—“I felt like a brat complaining about little things when there’s this child who may never make it to 20.” Our day inspired the students to create a fund to donate a stone engraved with “Cast A 2011 UWP” that will be a part of a walkway. Every penny enables a child and their family to spend a week at the facility. Our money “will help other children’s dream come true. We want to be a part of that.”
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UCP is a school for disabled children up to 5. Alanda-Joy Richards from Ontario Canada explains, “Our project was to work with the kids who have Cerebral Palsy, Autism and Down-Syndrome. We wanted the kids to have some fun with us… and to help create a playground for the 0-2 years old age group.” She was befriended by a boy moments after entering the classroom. He spotted her and gleefully proclaimed, “HEY, PLAY WITH ME!”
“[He] blew me away... the way he looked at me. I asked him if he could draw me and he gave me a little grin and started to draw. He started with my face and said to me "you have green eyes…" He caught all the minute details, her red bandanna, blond hair and earrings. “He giggled when he drew my sweater with a v-neck in it and even more so when he saw that I had a pink nike [swoosh] on my shoe. When I told him how amazing [his drawing] was he just smiled and handed me the paper. ‘For you!’ He grinned up and went back to working on his super heroes… but that smile didn't drop from his face the whole time he continued drawing.”
Anaïs De Wulf of Belgium also spent the day at UCP. It was her first time providing community service. She recalls, “at first the children were very shy, but in the end they all joined in and were so excited. I felt like we truly brought happiness… I was surprised to see how big [our] impact was… on people that we didn’t even know before.”
Alanda-Joy was amazed to discover that the kids cried when they had to leave. They only shared a few hours together and yet “I was his new best friend.” Its incredible how kids can reach out and break all sorts of boundaries. They have an inner glow, a light that breaks down walls and an energy that is contagious. This experience illustrated how normal these children are. “I realized that the parents who are the blessed with children who have ‘disabilities’ are truly the lucky ones because they get to have an amazing little person in their life.”
Anaïs can’t wait for her next community impact day. “the best part was seeing the smiles on the children’s faces… It was a wonderful experience. I can’t wait to do it again!”
We’re off now to another city in this sunny state. We’ve left behind our friends at PACE, Give Kids the World and UCP. We hope however, to have left a few ripples in our wake.
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