Community Service Day 1

Community Service Group #3: Dusk to Dawn
This Wednesday was the first day of our groups’ community service. There were three different community service groups, all dealing with different areas. The first group worked at a hip hop center called Heal the Hood. The second group worked at St. Augustine’s, which is a primary school. And the third group worked at a battered women’s shelter called Dusk to Dawn. Our group worked at the battered women’s shelter. When we arrived at the shelter, we were immediately shocked at the appearance of the home. The shelter was run by a woman named Monica. She informed us that currently there were 12 kids and 14 women living at the house. The group was very surprised at the poor living conditions in the shelter. There was a severe lack of space, food, clothing, bedding, sanitary products, and other everyday necessities. Our group decided that we definitely needed to change all of this. Our first task was to repaint as many bedrooms as we had time for, in hopes of bringing a little joy into the children’s lives. Next, our group began to clean up the backyard where the children play. We were so upset to see that there was glass and other garbage scattered throughout the yard. Our group feels very dedicated to significantly improving the shelter as much as possible. We would also like to thank Kathy Modica, Office of the President at Marist College for her great gifts for the children.





Community Service Group #2: St. Augustine’s
Today we spent time at a catholic primary school and there were mixed feelings about the experience. They broke our group up and placed each Marist student in a classroom, mainly for first graders. Many of the teachers left the room once we arrived, leaving us in control of the classroom, this was overwhelming. The teachers we observed had very strict control of the classroom, but it was lost when the teacher left. The school had strong religious undertones. All the students gave thanks before a snack, blessed people when they walked in, and sung religious songs. We were surprised by the affection the children showed to us and their curiosity about America. We were also surprised that the teachers left the classroom so quickly and when there were discipline problems the teachers hit the students hands or with a ruler to maintain order. It was an interesting experience with various opinions. It will be a hard decision to choose between St. Augustine and Dusk To Dawn for tomorrow.

Community Service Group #1: Heal the Hood
Today we started our community service project. We began by speaking with Fabian who is a part of the Heal the Hood Project organization. This Project helps teach kids self respect by the use of Hip Hop, graffiti art, poetry, and break dancing. It is a good way for the youth to stay away from drugs and better themselves. We mainly assisted Fabian by helping him put together a grant proposal that would aid Heal the Hood in obtaining money to help the organization, specifically through the use of hip hop dance to help kids stay out of trouble and off the streets. It was a very nice opportunity to help cater to the well being of urban youth through a thing like dance, to reach them and teach them a better way of living.