One organization that I have been involved with since coming to OSU is the Big Buckeye lil’ Buckeye program. As part of this club there are weekly trips to the Glenwood community center to volunteer with kids after school for a few hours on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The program mainly works with HAY which stands for Healthy Asian Youth and works to serve at risk Asian Youth in Columbus, but the program also supports other children and teens served by the community center. I have visited for a bit of a Halloween celebration at the center and thought that it was a very positive experience. I got to meet the kids, learn their names, play a few games and lose a lot of air-hockey matches to some very talented players. We also watched Hocus Pocus Two when it was first released, which the kids seemed to really enjoy.
I really think that this is an organization doing very great things. They are offering positive positive role models outside of a child’s family and school, in a kind of mentorship role. One thing that I have learned from volunteering with BBLB is that programs like this really do provide a lot of support and create a safe, familiar and fun environment for so many children and I believe that it is a great way to give back to the community. I love working with kiddos so when I found this club at the involvement fair at the beginning of the year I was very excited to share my interest with them. I’m thinking that I would like to go into some kind of outdoor education or naturalist role in my future career, hopefully working with kids and teaching them about our natural world. That being said, I hope to continue and further my involvement with this club the rest of the year!