Hi friends! I know it has been a while since Bluno has updated the blog, but we have had some busy times the last few weeks. We headed back to Sacramento for our transition and then everybody headed home for a much needed winter break. We had two weeks at home before coming back to Sacramento to do our debrief and head off to our next project!
Our project for this (second) round is located in Pomona, CA, 45 minutes outside of LA. We are living in the basement of the YMCA. We are all sharing a room to sleep in that is divided by a curtain for a girls side and boys side. We are sleeping on cots this round, and though they aren't the most comfortable thing to sleep on...they've panned out to be alright! We are also sharing a common room that houses an arcade game, a pool table, a couch, our eating table; and our kitchen that consists of a fridge, microwave, hot plate, and a skillet. There have definitely been some challenges adjusting to the new living arrangements, but we have learned to be creative and work together as a team. I feel as though we have already grown in the short time that we have been here! Below are a few pictures of where we are staying.
The Pomona YMCA that we are staying at.
The Man Cave! aka the boys side.
The girls side.
Our kitchen area.
The common room with the pool table, arcade game, and eating table.
We are working in partner with the YMCA at different Elementary schools within Pomona. Seven of us corps members (Alex, Kristen, Danielle, Tiffany, Chris, Erin, Katherine) are working at the grade schools individually. Each corps member works with the Pre-Kindergarten/ Head start programs in the morning, and are playground pals during recess time for the 1st-6th graders. In the afternoon we work with a teacher from the YMCA to facilitate P.E. in the school districts After School Education & Safety (ASES) program. The remaining three corps members stay behind at the YMCA to help out the staff there. Noor helps with the YMCA's website development & maintenance, and office work as needed. Sam helps out with any maintenance that needs to be done, as well as office work when needed. Eric is the sports coordinator and helps in the office. Our Team Leader (TL) Lauren visits us at our schools weekly to help us with the programs we are working in as well as helps out at the YMCA. We all work Tuesday through Friday at our specific Elementary Schools; and on Saturday we all get to stay at the YMCA and help with anything they need done. So far we have organized one of their storage closets, helped paint the girl's locker room, and built a sand box at one of their pre-schools. On Saturdays we will also be planning and hosting community days. We get Sunday and Monday off and have already used our free time to venture into LA, only a short bus ride away. We are so excited to be here in Pomona and are anxious to see what kind of impact we can make here; not only in the elementary schools, but throughout the community as well.
Chris and Erin off to school!
We are going to be updating the blog a lot more frequently now. We are assigning a week to each team member to update the blog on the work that we have been doing. That way you will get a taste of what we are doing, told from the perspective of each member. We hope that you are enjoying the blog thus far and continue reading as we embark on the many adventures to come. We are AmeriCorps and we "get things done!"
Kristen
