Operation Breakthrough

I chose to work with Operation Breakthrough to complete my service learning requirement. Operation Breakthrough is a daycare and preschool provider for more than 600 Kansas City area children. Twenty-five percent of the children at this daycare are homeless or living in homeless shelters, 25 percent come from foster homes and the rest come from mostly single parent homes. All but two percent of these children are living below the federal poverty line. My first experience with this organization was during the Early Action Program with Park University. During this first visit, I volunteered for an hour in one of the infant rooms. Because I wasn’t very engaged and didn’t do much that time, I assumed that the rest of my visits would be about the same. This honestly didn’t bother me though because I was looking for an easy way to spend 24 hours. However, this first impression was changed for the better when I began volunteering on a regular basis.

I did not have to go through an interview process prior to beginning my volunteer hours. During my original visit with the Early Action program, I went through the orientation process which included a tour of the huge facility. We saw how the building was arranged into color groups in an effort to keep siblings near each other during the day. For example, I volunteer in the green area which includes classrooms for children ranging in age from six weeks old to five years. Each different color area including yellow, blue, red, pink and purple include these five rooms. After this tour, we headed into a conference room to watch the orientation video which brought me to tears. It told the history of the organization as well as the stories of some of the children who go there. By the time it was over I was ready to do whatever I could to help them.

However, when I was actually assigned a room, my enthusiasm for the task quickly faded. I was placed in a room with infants, and basically did nothing the entire time. The teachers and regular volunteers in the room didn’t want my help and instructed me just to sit in the corner and played with the infants if they crawled over. Thankfully the room I was assigned to made all the difference in the quality of my experience. I September I began volunteering in room Green 3A. This room has eight children under the age of three and one teacher, Miss Allison. She is very enthusiastic about her job and is great with the kids. She understands what will make each of them happy as well as the most effective ways to communicate or discipline them. Her teaching style is very interactive and hands on, which works well with this particular group of children.

Each week when I returned the children and Miss Allison got to know me better and I was given more responsibility within the classroom. During my first few weeks, my main responsibility was simply to play with the kids. I didn’t help set up activities or help get breakfast and lunch ready. The longer I went though, the more things I was put in charge of. Now when I go, I help during meal times, both getting their food ready and cleaning up after them. I also assist with circle time, when the children tell stories and sing songs. All of these things have made me feel more appreciated and valuable. Miss Allison has learned my name and trusts me to help her out in the classroom. She also thanks me every time I leave and tells me they can’t wait until I am back. I am no longer treated as just another young volunteer who is only there because I have to be, but as a valuable helper in the class.

I first time I realized how attached I was becoming to the class, was on my third or fourth visit. The last time I had been there I played a game with Marcus where the plastic alligator toy would pretend to eat all my fingers of. When I returned, he grabbed my hand and took me over to where this toy was and wanted to play the game again. This little action made me so happy! It meant that the kids were starting to remember me and I wasn’t just another volunteer who was coming in and out constantly.

In addition to getting to know the kids, I have gained and improved many skills over the course of this first semester. One skill that is transferable to everything I will do in life is a willingness to do something new and different. The entire volunteering process was new to me when I began this semester. I had done a few random projects with various schools clubs in the past. But these were all simple projects that lasted only a few hours like raking leaves or walking dogs for the humane society. This lack of experience with volunteering made the idea of committing to an entire semester of work without knowing anyone that I would be working with quite scary. Although the experience was incredible scary, it helped me see that you can learn and grow from everything you do.

A more practical skill that I can apply to my life right now is gaining experience driving in Kansas City. Coming from a small town in Kansas, I considered traffic being stuck behind a tractor on the highway. I learned differently my first day volunteering when Julie and I headed into downtown Kansas City at 8 a.m. For someone who is familiar with the city, or just city driving in general, this would not be much of a problem, but for me it was terrifying. Not only did I have to navigate down roads I had never even heard of before but I also had to deal with rush hour traffic and crazy drivers. That first trip was one of the scariest experiences of my life. Thankfully, I have improved since our first visit and can now find my way to Operation Breakthrough with only one or two wrong turns.

However, I believe the increase in my patience and tolerance levels will help me the most throughout my life. There will always be conflict when you are dealing with other people, it is inevitable. But if you are able to stay calm throughout the situation, things will be much easier. Working with children made this lesson very clear. I work with two-year olds who are not always able to express their feelings. I have learned that you must stay calm and not let their tempers get to you. If you have a calm reassuring attitude, it allows them to feel safer and more relaxed. This patience can be applied to every interaction I have with others, not only to children. For example, when I am working with groups in school I have to be willing to trust others to get their parts done and not try to take over so it will be done sooner. Everyone works at their own pace, and I must allow them to have the time they need to get their work accomplished.

The one thing I underestimated about this experience was the impact these children would have on my life. Originally I was volunteering there in order to improve their lives and feel like I was making the world a better place. But I think these kids have improved my life more than I could ever impact theirs. This experience has opened up my eyes and has made me much more aware of issues in my area.

I have learned so much this semester it is hard to sum it all up in one paper. Prior to starting this project, I never realized what issues these kids are facing and how tough some of their lives are. The only time some of those kids get to eat is when they are at school. Others simply want you to hold or hug them because they do not get this kind of attention at their own homes. Now that I realize how great these issues of poverty and child abuse are, I want to do what I can to help children in these difficult situations. For this reason, I have decided to major in social work. I feel like this will give me the best chance to personally impact the lives of children in need. I also plan to keep Operation Breakthrough as my service learning partner for the remainder of the current school year and I hope to stay involved with the organization for the rest of my time in Kansas City.