GKTW Documentation
Spending a week of my summer at Give Kids the World was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Not only did I get the chance to travel to Florida during my summer break, but I was able to use that time to volunteer and play with the sweetest kids you'll ever meet for an entire week! I came back with 2 new friends to visit with on campus! The 9 of us that travelled all the way to Kissimmee on our own measures are able to come back knowing that we left a small but memorable impact in these children's lives, and that we are able to take a long trip like this on our own shoulders! I learned that there are always going to be people who argue and refuse to be happy, but that you must still work with those people to find a common ground. Holding true and calm in difficult situations is a skill that I am continuing to work on developing, and one that I know will come in handy in the future! I left this trip a stonger leader, person, and someone who hopes to return to GKTW sometime in the future!
Click the Read More link below to read my Reflective Essay for my trip to the Carolina Tiger Rescue!
1. How has the service experience contributed to your personal, professional and academic goals?
Volunteering as a trip leader for the Give Kids the World alternative break trip allowed me to follow my passion for volunteer work and working with children. It truly tested and developed my leadership skills, skills that will be essential for my future as a Speech Pathologist. Leading two separate car loads for the 14.5 hour drive from Cincinnati to Orlando is no easy task, but luckily we were blessed with safe and uneventful travel. Many times during this trip, my patience was tested. When faced with difficulty in a leadership position, I found out how important it is to remember your role and to act accordingly. As a leader, I cannot freak out and be selfish when I run into issues, I must remain professional and do my best to collaborate with my peers to find a solution that works for everyone. This trip also contributed to my academic goals in the essence of helping me to develop my organization skills, which will come in handy for classes this semester!
2. What specific communication theories are applicable to this experience and how were they manifested or visible during the experience? My communication skills were tested and sharpened throughout this trip. It was my duty as a tirp leader to work with SBC to find out details about travel times and information, car rental and pickup, volunteer forms and information, housing, and return procedures. I also kept in close contact with my group members about departure times and work shift. We had to collaborate and agree on grocery and many other different expenses to coincide with our budget. I found out how essential face-to-face communication is, because it is easy to miscommunicate or "feel big" behind the screen of a cell phone. I much prefer face-to-face communication in tense situations.
3. Define specific learning outcomes that were most applicable to your service experience and give concrete examples of their completion.
--Identify and differentiate multiple ways to contribute towards the development or achievement of the community’s goals.
There are so many ways to contribute in a place like the Give Kids the World village. The ultimate goal of this village is to give the kids that are there the best, most memorable week of their lives, and that can be done in so many diffeent ways. Whether it be giving that child an extra scoop of chocolate ice cream with extra extra sprinkles, clasping their wheelchair in for their first off-the-ground amusement ride, or playing game after game of air hockey with them long after you've grown tired of it, you can go home with a smile, knowing that you made that kid's day a fraction better. There's no bigger satisfaction than getting to give a child who has faced hardship the exact thing that they want, to say "yes" when they've heard so many "no's."
--Explain how education, advocacy, mobilization, or public policy can influence social issues and transform communities.
The community at GKTW was transformed by its accessability. There are so many places today that are impossible to navigate if you are restrained to a wheelchair or walker. Many physically abled people don't take the time to notice these issues until they are addressed by someone affected. For many children at GKTW, the accessible rides were their first amusement rides that they could actually get on and participate in, rather than to watch their siblings. If we can further the advocacy for regulations on rides, bathrooms, hallways, and ramps for wheelchair accessability, we will be opening a new world to the population of people whose restrictions are further restricted by lack of accessability. It is my strong belief that the accessability in GKTW should be transformed to the rest of the world.
