I came to know El Centro through a class requirement. Upon returning to the United States after studying abroad in Chile and Argentina for the fall of my junior year, I took a class titled Hispanic Heritage in the United States. It was a Latin American Studies class (taught in English) and perhaps my favorite class of my four years at Gettysburg. A part of our grade for this class was getting to know the Hispanic community of Gettysburg. Though El Centro does not solely serve the Hispanic population, the majority of the kids who go to El Centro are Hispanic. El Centro serves one of the poorest neighborhoods in Gettysburg (known as the third ward) and though historically the population has been predominately African American, it currently is mostly Hispanic. Thus, El Centro was a perfect fit!
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| Leidi is directly to my right :) |
I began tutoring Leidi in January of 2009, right after her 10th birthday. Leidi is as sweet as they come. She is one of the hardest workers I know and though reading comprehension is very difficult for her, she is incredibly persistent! I loved working with her and continued the once a week tutoring past my semester requirement through the end of my senior year. The afterschool tutoring the El Centro provides is completely supported by college students volunteers (most of these volunteers come based off of class assignments, like I did at first).
Because of my experience with El Centro and tutoring Leidi, I applied for an internship where I would be working with El Centro throughout the summer of 2009. I was thrilled when I found out that I got the position! El Centro transitions into offering a summer program during non-school months and thus without the college volunteers and additional staff member is needed. My summer with El Centro is possibly my best summer to date. It was such an incredible time where I built and grew so many wonderful relationships, with the kids, the other staff and my housemates at the time.
Within a week of working with these kids I loved them like they were my brothers (and thats a lot!) It is hard to explain. I've worked with tons of kids, and always love them for their sassy and unique personalities. But with the kids of El Centro, I truly fell in love with each of them and couldn't get enough of them. I always looked forward to their arrival, and even on the craziest of days I was excited for the next day. I was able to develop and lead a writing workshop which we did each day with the kids. It was totally powerful to read what these kids wrote about and see the world through their eyes. I loved working with the kids, getting them to believe in themselves and see the beauty of their words. I ended up compiling a book of their writings, which I am sure I will discuss in an upcoming blog post :)
The organization itself was run really beautifully too. Paula Olinger (an incredible woman, professor and founder of El Centro) made sure that at the end of each day we reflected on what went well, what was difficult and what we could do to smooth out any frustrations. It seemed so natural, I took this for granted. But the support that Paula offered and the value she placed on each and everyone one of the employees whether, 16 or 40 or somewhere in between was amazing. It was such a blessing and privilege to work with her. She is so passionate about these kids and loves them so much, it truly was infectious. I also developed a great friendship with Sarah, another one of my coworkers. She had just graduated and was so much fun and so refreshing to work with. Another person I totally took for granted that summer.
Looking back, I miss working their each and everyday. It was such a special time in my life. It was how I got paired up with Kenia and Jose. It also was a time of clarity in my life--I want to work with children, I want to love on children, I want them to know they are valued.
Enough of my personal ramblings, now onto the organization itself. El Centro offers homework help for children Monday-Thursday while also offering a supplemental program that acts to empower and enhance the wellbeing of the children. As I mentioned in my Thankful Thursday: Kenia and Jose :) post, it also creates an opportunity for community members to act as mentors to individual kids in the program. Simply stated, El Centro's mission is "The aim of El Centro is to enrich the lives of children and their families by providing educational, recreational and multicultural activities."
I can say with full sincerety that El Centro changed my life. Just thinking about my time their and all the children (and adults) I worked with makes me smile :)
You can learn more about El Centro and ways to support El Centro at: their website or their facebook page. El Centro could really use your support right now! They are currently desperately searching to find an alternative to closing their doors at the beginning of 2011. Grants have fallen through, and as we all know, the economy is rough right now. If you have the funds, (even just $10) please consider this organization! It has changed my life and continues to change the lives of some of the most in need children of Gettysburg each day.
--Kate
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