Tabitha Shelter

Hi Everyone! I hope you are doing well :) It has been a while since I've posted anything, sorry about that! Today, I want to tell you all about a really wonderful organization called Tabitha Ministries!

One part of Tabithat Ministries is the Tabitha Shelter. This is a volunteer-run women's shelter organized by Bethany Community Church. It is an incredible organization that gives shelter and protection to women Tuesday through Friday night each week. Tabitha Shelter partners with Noel House, which has paid staff positions and offers a more extensive range of resources. This ministry at Bethany Community Church is coordinated through five different types of volunteers--those who comprise the nutrition team, the hospitality team, the prayer team, the transportation team and the overnight team. Each one of these positions makes the ministry successful. Guests at Tabitha have told me that they truly feel at home and safe when they stay with Tabitha.

Check out this video for some more insight into this organization!

Tabitha Ministries is not solely the shelter. Tabitha also has a food bank to provide food for those who are in need. It also includes a monthly community meal which connects people from different walks of life. The Bethany Community Church website says it well, "The Community Dinner is not simply providing a meal, however; it is creating a space where connect on can happen between the church and the community. It’s about welcoming people into our church home and caring for them. "


I first felt led to volunteer with this ministry last fall. During church one sunday, an informational video was presented, and I just felt like God was tapping on my shoulder and saying this was where I needed to serve. More and more, I have felt that I need to live out my faith in concrete and daily ways. I have long done community service and volunteer work. However, it has been some years since my service has been directly correlated with a Christian organization. This does not mean that my service and my Christian faith are not related, they very much are and I will discuss this in an upcoming blog, it simply means that others don't always know this relationship exists. It also means that during my service, I am not given the opportunity to share how I feel Jesus fits into the picture, offering true hope and true transformation. With all of this on my heart, I felt that the next step in living out my faith was to not only serve with Tabitha, but to serve as an overnight volunteer--the position which had the most need for volunteers.

An overnight volunteer arrives shortly before the guests arrive and spends the night along side them. The next morning the overnight volunteer puts out breakfast and helps the women stack up their mattresses and get ready for the bus. I have been an overnight volunteer twice so far. Each time, truthfully, I enter the situation with a bit of apprehension. However, the experience is lovely. It is so refreshing to and such a blessing to me to get to interact with these women and have all my stereotypes of homelessness constantly challenged. Some of these women have full time jobs, work in retail, have military husbands, have been homeless for years or just days. There is a whole range of women and a whole range of personalities. And, it is wonderful.

If you have the opportunity to do so, I challenge you to find a place in your community where you can create relationships with people that you otherwise would likely not come into contact with. Give where you have surplus. For me, I don't have much extra money to give, so money isn't what I give. I do however, have the ability to give up one night a month to sleep along side these women at Tabitha, and what a privilege it is do so.

El Centro!

The Center/ El Centro is an absolutely wonderful organization. It will forever hold a very sweet spot in my heart, along with each and every child that I worked with at El Centro.

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!

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 

Westside Baby!

Every Friday my AmeriCorps team serves as a team. This means we are at our individual sites Monday through Thursday and on Fridays we serve off-site. This Friday we split up into two groups. My group served at WestSide Baby. This organization is an incredible organization that creates opportunities for many families to have quality clothes and other basic needs for their children. They have diapers, car seats, high chairs, toys and all types of clothing available for free for low income families. This organization was created under the premise that being a parent is stressful enough without having to worry about being able to provide and meet the basic needs of one's child due to monetary limitations. WestSide Baby is the home site for one of our AmeriCorps team members, Whitney, and so Friday, we had the pleasure of serving with her and getting some of hands-on work completed.

Toys galore! Still in the process of getting sorted through!

WestSide Baby runs primarily by generous donations (of clothing, cars seats, toys, hours of service, etc.) and consistent volunteer support. WestSide Baby recently moved into a larger facility (it was totally needing more space) and so is in the process of getting everything replaced and organized, while still sorting through new donations.

Most of our day was spent sorting boxes and boxes of donated clothes.

I was incredibly impressed with how organized and complex this organization is. It seems to be run so well, and is very thoughtful in how it provides services. In fact, overall, I have been very impressed with most of the sites my AmeriCorps team is placed at. New Futures (my site) never ceases to impress me with the infrastructure set up in order sustain its vitality and existence as nonprofit organization. WestSide Baby is no exception!

Sarah (my roommate) with a cute onesie!

We had so much fun sorting these clothes, and finding lots of cute little clothes.

WestSide Baby organizes by size and offers sizes from newborn to 10/12.

It was a great day, and was wonderful to see how far a little manpower can go :)

Happy Weekend!

--Kate

The ArtsCorps

Last Friday we had the Washington State AmeriCorps Launch. This is where all the AmeriCorps members serving in Washington State gather for the official kick off for our term of service. There were over 1000 volunteers there, all serving in various ways with AmeriCorps. I recognized some familiar faces--AmeriCorps members I had met on the bus to work, or at a tutor training, it was pretty cool to see how many AmeriCorps members there are and what a presence they make in the city of Seattle. The event took place at the Seattle Center, which is right next to the Space Needle. It was a beautiful day and I got a couple great pictures using my phone.


My favorite part of the day was not the Pad Thai I had for lunch (surprising, I know!) or saying the AmeriCorps pledge, or even hearing testimonies from AmeriCorps past; my favorite part of this gathering was a presentation by The ArtsCorps. This is an INCREDIBLE organization that seeks to empower and inspire children and communities through art. If you know anything about my passions, you recognize that art empowerment with children is at the core. I super impressed by the woman who presented about the organization, and how through simply listening to her, I felt empowered to be more of who I am. This organization that art exposure and art education are crucial in the development of critical thinking, persistence and reflection--I couldn't agree more! Two artists from this organization then led an interactive component to their presentation, where all the AmeriCorps were challenged to follow different rhythms and lead and follow based on the need of the group. I was overwhelmed and so heart warmed by this.

President Obama is using this organization as pilot organization (since it has existed for the last 10 years) for an Artist Corps based off of the New Deal. He used this in his platform during his election and is following through with his commitment to the arts and arts education. Not only does this make my heart smile, I just hope in some way, whether with this organization or a similar one, I can become part of this movement. Art is empowering, liberating, healing and so important. There are no rights or wrongs, just an expression of self and how one views the world. How beautiful is that?


I hope you all have had a wonderful start to your week!