Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Jonathan Hoyt Teen reach

11.   I chose to volunteer my time at teen reach in Charleston, IL. Teen reach is an after school program for children aged 11 to 17 that provides entertainment,  homework assistance, and other various recreational activities.
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22.       Many of the concepts that I have learned during my time here as an FCS student were easily visible during my time here at teen reach. Many of the children in teen reach are at risk youth that come from adverse situations. My first trip to teen reach I had to opportunity to ride in the van and pick up the kids from school. The woman that I rode along with explained to me the harsh situations that many of these kids come from and to not be surprised when they speak so freely about it. Shortly afterwards one kid got into the van and began talking about his home and how he is not allowed to talk about his real father and how he forced him out of his memory, no longer able to remember what he looks like.
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33.   I had the opportunity to speak with many of the other volunteers that have been a part of teen reach for some time and gained a lot of valuable insight. The woman that I rode with to pick up the kids from school explained to me that it is easy to get attached to the kids simply because they look up to you and share so much with you. She went on to say that the attachment can sometimes take a toll on you emotionally when you see what the living situation is like for the kids outside of teen reach.
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   4.Teen reach is an awesome program that has a tremendously positive effect on the community. For many of these youth we are the only positive influence they may come across during the day, so without this program one can only wonder what some of these kids may spend their time doing instead.

   5. I am very happy to have spent time at teen reach and I definitely plan to continue volunteering there in the future. This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to work with at risk youth and I definitely feel it is something I would enjoy doing in the future. 

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