Section I
First Semester: Kids Can
Service allowed me to connect with Omaha and with my Navy Blue FLP family. Being active in the community has connected more ties between Omaha and me, especially since I'm from Hawai'i. I no longer just go to school in Omaha, but I found a way to be actively involved here. Each semester I get to participate in volunteering at different service site that the Freshman Leadership Program is affiliated with. My first semester, I volunteered with my FLP navy blue family. Every Wednesdays, we went to Kids Can, which is an after school care program for kids in the South Omaha area. We help kids with their homework, play games with them, do creative art crafts, and be a friend. There are many activities that I enjoyed doing with the kids. One activity was to make a homemade roller coaster out of straws and tape with the kids. What I like about this activity was that kids were able to be creative with how they wanted the path of the roller coaster to be and how they wanted their theme park to look like. I saw how intelligent and creative the kids are. Another activity was when we made homemade goo out of glue. The kids definitely loved this activity. This brought out the fun and wild side of the kids, including us.
Second Semester: Precious Memories
This semester I went to Precious Memories, which is a non-profit childcare program that help low-income families in supervising their children while the parents are at work. We spent majority of the time playing with the children there. Volunteering here for several weeks, and I realized that service and leadership does not have to be grand. It just involves simple acts of kindness and touching the lives of others. Reminding myself that just by playing with the kids, I have an impact on the children's lives, even if its a small one. Seeing the kids happy and having fun, brightens our day. Most of the time when I'm there I play at the baby section. The little kids love going down the slide. I help them down the slide when I'm there, and it makes me happy when I see the joy and smile on the face when they are sliding down.
Section II
Prior to my arrival to Creighton, I did not know there was a difference between service and social justice. Once I got here, I clearly understood what the distinction between the two.
Service provides direct aid such such as food, clothing, and shelter. Service responds to immediate needs, and addresses problems that already exist. It is private individual acts, examples include homeless shelters, clothing drives, emergency services. While social justice promotes social change in institutions, communities, or political systems. Social justice responds to long-term needs, and addresses the root causes of the problems. Justice is public, collective action, examples include changing policies and practices, advocacy, or political action. Although both service and social justice aims to fulfill a need, the approach is different. Service applies to immediate need, while social justice deeply uncovers the root cause of the problem.
First Semester: Kids Can
Service allowed me to connect with Omaha and with my Navy Blue FLP family. Being active in the community has connected more ties between Omaha and me, especially since I'm from Hawai'i. I no longer just go to school in Omaha, but I found a way to be actively involved here. Each semester I get to participate in volunteering at different service site that the Freshman Leadership Program is affiliated with. My first semester, I volunteered with my FLP navy blue family. Every Wednesdays, we went to Kids Can, which is an after school care program for kids in the South Omaha area. We help kids with their homework, play games with them, do creative art crafts, and be a friend. There are many activities that I enjoyed doing with the kids. One activity was to make a homemade roller coaster out of straws and tape with the kids. What I like about this activity was that kids were able to be creative with how they wanted the path of the roller coaster to be and how they wanted their theme park to look like. I saw how intelligent and creative the kids are. Another activity was when we made homemade goo out of glue. The kids definitely loved this activity. This brought out the fun and wild side of the kids, including us.
Second Semester: Precious Memories
This semester I went to Precious Memories, which is a non-profit childcare program that help low-income families in supervising their children while the parents are at work. We spent majority of the time playing with the children there. Volunteering here for several weeks, and I realized that service and leadership does not have to be grand. It just involves simple acts of kindness and touching the lives of others. Reminding myself that just by playing with the kids, I have an impact on the children's lives, even if its a small one. Seeing the kids happy and having fun, brightens our day. Most of the time when I'm there I play at the baby section. The little kids love going down the slide. I help them down the slide when I'm there, and it makes me happy when I see the joy and smile on the face when they are sliding down.
Section II
Prior to my arrival to Creighton, I did not know there was a difference between service and social justice. Once I got here, I clearly understood what the distinction between the two.
Service provides direct aid such such as food, clothing, and shelter. Service responds to immediate needs, and addresses problems that already exist. It is private individual acts, examples include homeless shelters, clothing drives, emergency services. While social justice promotes social change in institutions, communities, or political systems. Social justice responds to long-term needs, and addresses the root causes of the problems. Justice is public, collective action, examples include changing policies and practices, advocacy, or political action. Although both service and social justice aims to fulfill a need, the approach is different. Service applies to immediate need, while social justice deeply uncovers the root cause of the problem.