For my Academic Service project, I had decided that I wanted to do something that involved children and young adults. I have completed a ton of service that involves the environment or animals and wildlife, so I believe that it would be a pleasant experience for me to work with young children. Within the topic of young adults, I could have chosen any field. I could have chosen a project that involved help with homework or literacy skills, but I did not. I chose to complete a project that aided those children who were subject to financial instability because in a way, it is something that I can relate to.

For this service, I had volunteered at PS 188 The Island School which is located in the Lower East Side near the Williamsburg Bridge in Manhattan. The school houses about 400 students, most of which come from families that are in poverty. For most of my life, I guess one could say that I have lived under such circumstances, which is why I found this site so intriguing and I was eager to give back to them. At this site, every once in a while on Saturdays, groups of teenagers and adults volunteer to come down to the school to spend time with the children in a day full of fun and games as a way to essentially boost their spirits and to help them deal with the stress of possibly living in a place where they may not have the resources to do such.

On this day, there were about a dozen or so of us volunteers and there were about 30 students who have showed up. They were all different ages; I believe that the youngest was about six years old while the oldest may have been about thirteen. From what I was told, most of the children who were there were from the area, while a handful of them have come from either Brooklyn, Northwestern Queens, or Midtown to Uptown Manhattan and that some of them where there because both parents could not afford to leave them somewhere while they are at work.

Like the ages and where the children had come from, the way they acted had greatly varied as well. Some of the children were shy and took a while to warm up to the volunteers and for the first hour or so they would just walk around and play alone. Then there were the kids who were very energetic and could not be any happier to see us. They were very active and energetic, and they were always talking to us and other kids. There were also a handful of kids who were a bit rough, and even though they did listen, some were know to hit others.

Overall, I feel that this had been a great experience for both the children and I. We had participated in all sorts of sports activities such as Soccer and Basketball, and afterwards we had lunch together. I had a great time at this event talking and playing with the kids and I feel that I had at least a bit helped them have a really good time, even though if it was just for a couple of hours. So far, the event that takes place at this school only happens about once a month, but I really feel that I should go back and volunteer at this event in the future because I feel that I can help make an impact.