The end is near

With about two months of service in AmeriCorps left, I realized that it’s been awhile since I’ve given the blog some “personal insight.” Looking back, I can’t even begin to wrap my head around the experiences I’ve had and the ways in which they’ve changed me – I feel like I just got here! Maybe after it’s all over, it will be easier to grasp in retrospect.

As the end of the school year lingers, homework help is becoming less and less necessary. The same group of regular kids still seek me out for occasional help with a worksheet or report, but their primary purpose for visiting the library is to use the computers, spend time with friends, browse books, practice reading or simply seek refuge from the sometimes overbearing issues in their lives — regarding earthquakes, language barriers, split families, financial woes, and less-than-desirable living situations.

I’ve kept myself busy for the past couple weeks by preparing for the library’s summer reading club programs. “Make a Splash: Read” and “Make Waves with Reading” are the themes for the youth summer reading club programs in association with the Collaborative Library Summer Program (http://www.clspreads.org) I’ve been encouraging all of the kids I work with regularly to sign up, hoping that we can continue to build on the good educational habits we’ve developed this school year. In preparation, I’ve mainly been compiling lists of book suggestions for grades K-12. I thought it would be nice for the kids to have some guidance on what to chose and to give them a better idea of what’s available at the library.

  

As with the start of the homework help program at the beginning of the year, the summer reading help will be a very “learn as we go” sort of thing – although I’ve offered to help with kids with reading to meet their book goals and to improve literacy skills, I’m not sure yet if that will be through appointments, “come and go as you please” situations, or through other reading activities.

I’m also excited for the reader’s theater program to be held at the library this summer. Both teen and youth patrons who are interested will perform skits based on popular children’s or teens books. Although I had some experience with drama and theater in high school, I will definitely have to dust the cobwebs off of my acting skills and do my best to help the kids have a fun experience.

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I received the ultimate approval on my Florida life last weekend when my mom came from Pennsylvania for a visit. Last time she’d seen me in Florida, I was sleeping on the couch in my friend’s apartment with all of my belongings piled in a corner. I didn’t know my site placement yet either and I had no idea where I was going to live. Needless to say, she was thrilled to see me in a safe, spacious, well-kept apartment and loved the library, too. She was able to meet my roommate, my boyfriend, Adam, a couple of my close friends and most of the library staff that I work with daily — and she even met some of the kids!

Although her stay was short, we had a great time visiting, trying out new restaurants, shopping and, of course, relaxing on the beach.

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On a different note – another necessity as the end of my service approaches has been (cue ominous music…) job hunting!

I’ve set my sights on finding a job in a Palm Beach County library after AmeriCorps comes to an end. I totally re-vamped my resume, created a portfolio highlighting my past experiences, networked with key resources throughout the county and scoured relevant job postings. Although position openings are eerily scarce, I was able to snag one interview with a unique arts library on the Island of Palm Beach. The position is for a library processing assistant and would be a great experiential complement to graduate school. The interview was very promising as I got along well with the staff and loved the facility – but in today’s job world, there are no guarantees. Regardless of the outcome, I look forward to what my post-AmeriCorps life has in store for me and plan to make the most of these last couple of months as they quickly slip away…

AmeriCorps Week

As a national AmeriCorps member, the week of May 8-15th is all about me — It’s AmeriCorps Week! In honor of AmeriCorps, the other members and I aren’t just sitting around, we are doing what we do best — serving.

My AmeriCorps program — Literacy AmeriCorps of Palm Beach County, is holding a countywide food drive to collect canned and dry food for a local soup kitchen. Our goal is to collect more than 1,000 cans to donate to a local soup kitchen — The Caridad Center of Boynton Beach (www.caridad.org)

Two other Literacy AmeriCorps members and I set up a donation location at our apartment complex, Via Lugano. We placed a box with a sign at the door of our gym with hopes that our neighbors will be willing to donate.

Other members of our program are partaking in similar collection initiatives at their living and work areas in order to help reach our goal.