Galveston Urban Ministries is a community ministry in Galveston, Texas. Their ministries include a job readiness program, legal services to people in need, social services, a women's Bible study, and a student after school program. I plan to volunteer for their student after school program to learn more about what that looks like.

 

I sent an email to Jessica Capdeville, the children's director, and set up a volunteer day for Tuesday, November 3rd.

 

I visited the after school program and spent the day with twelve impoverished kids. I learned the importance of responsibility, a firm yet loving hand, organization, and fun.

 

Responsibility

• Kids living in proverty tend to lack this virtue in their life. They are taught to take any handouts they can get, but they are not taught how to take care of the things they do have. Several times I saw kids throw their trash from snack on the ground because that is all they are taught to do. When kids do this, it is important to correct them in order to teach them how to respect. Another good way to teach this is to give the students chores to do such as sweep an area or wipe down tables. These chores give the kids a sense of pride and respect for their areas, a pride and respect they lack at home.

A Firm Yet Loving Hand

• Without a firm hand in a child's life, they grow up without obedience; however, without a loving hand, they can grow up rebellious or fearful. In an after school program, it is important not to yell at the kids (most get enough of that at home), but to correct them in a loving way.

Organization

• Imagine a messy room, no planned activities, and kids running around aimlessly. That is literally a nightmare. An after school program needs organization to keep it running smoothly. There needs to be clearly planned activities and a schedule of when those activities should take place. At G.U.M., the kids were picked up from school and brought to the G.U.M. building to begin play time. The play time lasted about thirty minutes and allowed the kids to burn off the tension they received from school. They also received their snack during play time so they could eat and play as they wanted. The next activity was homework time. They were broken up at different tables by age group, and each age group had an adult to help them with their homework. After homework time, it was time to calm the kids down with a game before they were sent home. The game for the day I visited was a dance party that the kids and I got to enjoy. After they calmed down, all the kids lined up by age group and went to the van to be dropped off at home.

Fun

• Through all the responsibility, correction, and organization, it is important to remember that kids still love to have fun. Games and epic dance parties are an important part of helping impoverished kids experience a temporary relief to their poverty while they learn to escape it permanently.