I’m incredibly excited to start working with the Boys and Girls Club. I really think everyone will get something out of the experience, and it’s really cool that there are so many different expectations among different people. Personally, I just want to do what I can, where I can, to help, and if I can accomplish that goal I will be happy. Regardless of how we structure our civic engagement with the Boys and Girls Club, I believe it will be a really fulfilling and cool experience.
With that said, I think there should be some parameters for our visits. While I would not mind going alone, I think that I would get more out of a group working together. This would be better for bonding with each other, and I think, make sure everyone is comfortable around everyone else. As for whether our activities are structured, I would say that this question depends entirely on the person or group. For instance, I would not want to put together a structured anything; I’d rather just spend my time playing soccer with the kids. Some people have interests though that would work very well with a structured program, like an interest in art. Honestly, I think the most important thing is just going and having fun with the kids, regardless of how structured or non-structured it is. Personally, I connect with people through games or sports, so that would be the area that I would be interested in, as opposed to structured activities.
I would be fine with going at least once a week. I’d like to be able to make a commitment to more than once a week, but I can’t be sure yet that I can fit that into my schedule. I think that as long as we have someone there or a group of people there once or twice a week, our attendance as a cohort would be pretty successful. I don’t believe I have any worries; a new volunteer experience is always a bit unnerving at first, but that just comes with the territory until you get used to everything.
