Pickles – A volunteer reflects

Amy asked me to write down why I volunteer at Lake Erie Ink, which I’ve been doing since the fall quarter began.  Initially, I volunteered because I’m a writer and fell in love with the idea of helping children discover the power of creative thinking.  That’s still the case.  I often find myself awed by the amazing creative instincts these future authors possess, but after thinking about it more, I’m changing my answer to pickles.  That’s right.  You heard me, pickles.

Today’s world today moves so fast and is so cynical, it can make your head throb.  We are bombarded with conspiracy theories, useless information, celebrity hook-ups and a thousand other distractions.  The news is no longer the news, it’s entertainment, and it breeds cynicism.  After watching our nation’s capitol come to a gridlocked standstill, sports heroes bolt the hometown in pursuit of the almighty dollar, senseless school shootings, greedy corporate behavior, and countless other actions that our grandparents could never believe, we’ve all become more jaded, and more guarded, than we’d like.

What does this have to do with pickles?  How is it related to Lake Erie Ink?  I’m glad you asked.  Today, I showed up a few minutes past three and helped prepared the snack (cheese puffs and choice of Clementine or fruit cocktail).  I joined the sixth grader room, where the kids were doing homework.  The talk turned to pickles, a continuation of last Thursday’s chat when a jar of pickles was discovered in the cabinet.  That discovery triggered a lengthy discussion on pickle virtues, a topic so enthralling to the sixth graders that even the weekend couldn’t banish it from their thoughts.

To hear them talk, you’d have thought that the kids were talking about Beluga caviar, or taking a ride on Richard Branson’s space taxi, or winning the World Series.  For those kids, at that moment, the thought of a nice juicy pickle was their entire world.  Nothing else mattered and they were happy, just thinking of pickles.

I miss that innocence in our lives.  Lake Erie Ink brings it back, for me, and that’s why I volunteer.  I think I’ll have pickles for dinner.

Chris Garson

Lake Erie Ink volunteer

If you’d like to read more of my writing, checkout http://chrisgarsonwrites.com/

Volunteer Reflection from Ms. Barb

I love volunteering at Lake Erie Ink.  The Ink Spot kids are interesting, talented and receptive to the many writing projects dreamed up by the staff.  I love watching their ideas come alive in written form.  The staff are all creative and make learning and writing fun.  I especially enjoy reading their poems- or even better, when they read their poems.  It’s such a comfortable, safe place.  I look forward to Wednesday afternoons!

Ms. Barb (Barb Morgan, two year volunteer with the Ink Spot)

Summer Volunteers Sound Off

This summer, our teen volunteers– from Euclid, Shaker, Cleveland, Cleveland Heights–gave their time and energy to our Summer Ink Campers.  Staff member Lydia Munnell, interviewed some of them to find out what they had to say about their LEI experience and created a video you can view on youtube.  To see what Summer volunteers  and what makes Lake Erie Ink a different place to volunteer, click here.

End of Year Reflection by Maryann, Intern

I’ve always been a person with diverse interests and a desire to explore new experiences.  I began my college career as an education major and eventually switched to an English major, but my passion for language and working with kids remained equally strong.  When it came time to figure out my post-college plans, one of my professors, Kirsten Parkinson, told me about Lake Erie Ink.  She got me in touch with Amy Rosenbluth, and I made my first visit to LEI’s space a couple months later.

During my interview, I told Amy my two goals: I wanted to learn how to share my love of writing with kids, and I wanted to learn how to write grants and get a sense of how non-profits operate.  Over the course of my one-year internship at Lake Erie Ink, I can say I learned those two things—and so much more.

I immersed myself in new forms of technology that I’d never had a chance to use before. I learned how to make beats on an iPad and edit videos on iMovie.  I learned how to get rid of eraser smudges on scanned drawings using Photo Shop. And during one of our in-school projects, I got to write on a Smart Board for the first time.

I was trained in basic first aid—how to administer an EpiPen, how to apply pressure to a wound using gauze, and how to correctly put on and take off latex gloves to prevent contamination.

I learned how to paint with water colors—how to glide the brush over the paper to get a nice gradation of color.  And during a summer camp session, I learned how to make inked prints using unflavored Jello and feathers.

(I did not, however, learn how to whistle, though a group of girls from the after-school program tried their best to teach me.)

Among the many new skills I learned, my internship at Lake Erie Ink also gave me the opportunity to teach.  I helped a fourth-grade boy with his science fair experiment and showed him how to display his results on a tri-fold board.  I taught our Ink Spot students how to launch their words into the stars by writing their own constellation legends.

I organized a Teen Fiction Symposium and met several local authors.  In the summer, Joshua, the Cleveland Foundation intern, and I also led a blogging workshop for a group of teens from Mexico.

On the final day of the Ink Spot program, the students and staff gathered in a circle to share their favorite experiences during the year.  We tossed a yellow spool of yarn as we took turns speaking.  Whoever caught the spool would wrap the yarn around their wrist, say something they learned or enjoyed this past year, and then toss the spool to someone else.  By the end of the activity, we’d formed a tight-knit web that showed us how we’d influenced one another during our time together.  When we cut the web, we kept the loop we’d each tied around our wrists to wear to that evening’s end-of-year celebration.

I will continue to feel the ties of that web as I begin my next adventure: pursuing an MFA in Creative Nonfiction at West Virginia University.

Humility: Reflections by Lydia M.

I wouldn’t say I was cocky when I graduated from college. I just thought I knew something about the few things I knew. Writing, community service, teaching. These were the areas I felt comfortable with. My first month of service at my host site has humbled me, though, and it has reminded me of something a Comparative Asian politics professor said in class four years ago. We had started a unit about the history and politics of China, and as we slowly waded into the absolute ocean of Chinese culture, she warned us that the more we learned about China, the more we would realize there was to know. Our best hope for the class was to get a sense of the vastness of the field and how much we could never hope to learn. To become a student of China was to be humble.
Stepping into the role of Ink Spot (after school program) coordinator and volunteer coordinator at Lake Erie Ink: A writing space for youth sounds tidy enough. It rolls off the tongue, and it comes with a built-in service description. A quantifiable list that ought to end in 1700 hours. But beginning my job as the first AmeriCorps member at Lake Erie Ink has left me humbled and with a growing idea of how much I have to learn about teaching, about the complexities of the Greater Cleveland community, about the writing life, and about what it means to be a grown-up. That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed myself. I’ve felt welcomed in every conceivable way. My supervisors are caring and supportive. They take advantage of teachable moments and they support me in the ways I need to be supported. But the situation – the sometimes helpless feeling of being in charge without feeling like I ought to be – has humbled me.
Today, the last day of September, was an open house event that I have been working toward since I started my service year. And while outwardly, I was making last minute preparations, bustling around, and introducing myself to board members; internally, I was riding over the peaks and valleys of my own consciousness. At once, I felt nervous and proud, overwhelmed and excited.  Read more…

Volunteer Spotlight

 Jaidee Miree Interviews Patti Smith

 

 

Last week at the Ink Spot, Fairfax fifth grader Jaidee Miree sat down with Lake Erie Ink volunteer Patti Smith. He prepared questions and interviewed her for this month’s volunteer spotlight.

 

 

 

 

Jaidee: Have you ever played a 21st century video game?

Ms. Patti: No, I have never played a 21st century video game.

Jaidee: What are your favorite foods?

Ms. Patti: My favorite foods are ice cream, anything coconut, and turkey burgers.

Jaidee: What is your favorite name brand?

Ms. Patti: My favorite brand of clothing is Levi Jeans.

Jaidee: What’s your favorite book?

Ms. Patti: My favorite book is Leaving Home.

Jaidee: What’s your job?

Ms. Patti: I’m a middle school teacher at Wiley.

Jaidee: Do you believe in angels?

Ms. Patti: Yes, I believe in angels.

Jaidee: What’s your favorite board game?

Ms. Patti: I do not like board games.

Jaidee: What’s a movie that you like?

Ms. Patti: 500 Days of Summer.

Listening, Observing, Conversing, and Writing

Reflections from Lake Erie Ink Intern, Maryann H.

As graduation from college drew near, I scheduled an appointment with my professor to talk about internship opportunities. I was looking for a way to combine my interests of teaching writing and working with children, and my professor connected me with Lake Erie Ink. My role in helping with the after school Ink Spot program and with in-school writing programs has been a good fit for me. I enjoy watching the kids as they let their imagination take the form of stories and pictures, and I feel honored whenever they ask to share their work with me.

One day as the students began filing in, the other volunteers and I watched two girls at the far table as they chatted and pulled out their homework. The adult volunteer commented how wonderful it was to see two kids sitting down and having a conversation—after all, in today’s technology-saturated world, we rarely have that kind of face-to-face interaction. To me, that is what makes the environment at the Ink Spot so refreshing. It’s a space for kids to share their talents and creativity, and I enjoy getting to share my passion for writing with them—and, of course, simply taking time to listen.

 

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