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<DIV>Hi,</DIV>
<DIV>I had a similar situation. When I was volunteering with upper elementary
kids at a nonprofit along with some students from my school Marymount
university, I felt like the staff and students wanted to give me help vs me help
them.</DIV>
<DIV>Its tough since you need to have experience to gain confidence and work out
alternative techniques, but you also have to have confidence to get the
experience. Hope that made sense.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I think its cool if you relate to them. In fact you want to be in control,
but not too much like the big authority figure. Perhaps establish some authority
with firm directions and rules. If they want to help, try to say, oh I can do
that but thanks for the offer.</DIV>
<DIV>Yes its awkward when kids want to help you by guiding you instead. On the
other hand, I admit I kind of took it as I did not know my way around well. I
can use a cane, but orientation never has and never will be a strength. I did
not touch them but I did follow their voice; gee, they would be too small to be
a sighted guide anyway.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I don’t know if you need some orientation to the place or whether you know
your way and don’t have a chance to walk around.</DIV>
<DIV>I have not tried these suggestions I am about to give. But I did
think about this very issue of getting around and not needing sighted
guides</DIV>
<DIV>when volunteering in a new setting where you may move from room to room
with kids.</DIV>
<DIV>Maybe try these:</DIV>
<DIV>If you need to get familiar with the place,</DIV>
<DIV>1. Ask a staff member to orient you; I mean not formally, but maybe just
explain the layout and where the main rooms are. kind of give you a tour.
Mentally note landmarks and stuff like that as you walk around.</DIV>
<DIV>2. Explore the place before or after your volunteer shift. I doubt they
would mind you walking around.</DIV>
<DIV>3. I know some federationists object to placing adaptations in the
environment, but</DIV>
<DIV>I think it can be helpful if it’s a minor change. If you need a landmark or
braille numbers, then place those in the appropriate places.</DIV>
<DIV>Like put a sign on doors you need.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>4. You said they bring you lunch stuff before you can go and find it. How
about </DIV>
<DIV>saying to them nicely before the day starts, “I’d like to go up and get my
own lunch food and drink. All I need is for you to give me directions to stand
in line.” or state what you need instead. I find it takes us longer to find the
food line and food itself. So people just make it easy for us and grab it for
us.</DIV>
<DIV>Perhaps if the food is set in one place, find out and that can be part of
your tour. If it changes day to day, you cannot memorize its location.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>5. Try and know the kids by name and as individuals if you haven’t already.
</DIV>
<DIV>This helps establish repport and you as a leader.</DIV>
<DIV>6. I don’t know much details on the group or its role. So this is a general
statement. Can you try and think of something you can do that will set you apart
from other volunteers and impress them? I’d give suggestions if I knew what was
going on. Are you good at leading a certain activity?</DIV>
<DIV>Could you show them something practical hands on? For instance how to
sew on a button or since it’s the holiday time, how to make wreaths or
ornaments?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>HTH,</DIV>
<DIV>Ashley</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=christine-parsons@sbcglobal.net
href="mailto:christine-parsons@sbcglobal.net">Chris Parsons</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, December 14, 2011 10:56 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=community-service@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:community-service@nfbnet.org">Community Service Discussion List</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> [Community-service] Volunteering with teenagers/Setting
yourselfapart as a volunteer</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Hi all,</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
color=#000000></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A couple friends and I
sometimes volunteer with a group for blind teens that I was a member of in
middle and high school. The kids really love when we’re there, and they always
have a lot of questions. But something has been on my mind almost ever since I
started volunteering with them, and I was hoping some of you might have some
thoughts.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
color=#000000></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Maybe it’s because I was
once a member of the group and now have a hard time thinking of myself as a
volunteer, or maybe it’s because I’m fairly introverted around most people, but
most of the time when I volunteer with these kids I just feel like another
member of the group. I think one of the benefits of working with groups where
some of the people are close to your age is the ability to relate to them and
for them to relate to you. I’ve definitely seen that happen as I’ve worked with
this group. But a disadvantage is that I often find it hard to distinguish
myself from the group and take on a leadership role. I’ve had kids half my age
ask me if I need help getting from one place to another, and the other
volunteers often bring me cups of juice or napkins at lunch before I even have a
chance to go get my own. All of this leaves me not feeling very volunteer-like
to these kids or very equal to the other volunteers. The times when I feel most
comfortable are when my friends and I are standing in front of the group doing a
presentation/Q and A on college prep or something similar rather than helping
the kids with a craft or fitness activity.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
color=#000000></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">So, there seems an obvious
solution to this: Be more self-confident. And I know that is something I need to
work on, in service settings and in general. I also know that some of it is
plain confidence related and some of it is blindness skills related. And now
that I think about it, I suppose </FONT></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">this isnt really just a
question applicable to working with groups of youth. As blind people, in
whatever type of service we choose to do, we are likely to come across
situations where the others in our group of volunteers and those who we are
helping see us as needing help instead.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
color=#000000></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I’ve been a little nervous
to put this forward because, as I said above, on the surface the solution seems
pretty clear-cut and something that I need to work on myself. But the article
that was posted yesterday about how service can be good for your health if you
are doing something that is a good fit for you and something you enjoy finally
inspired me to put this out there in hopes that some of you have had similar
experiences and might be able to offer some thoughts. I would love to keep
working with this group, and the kids really seem to like me and look up to me
as a mentor, but I need to figure out how to be an effective volunteer,
too.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
color=#000000></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Chris</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"></FONT></P></DIV></DIV>
<P>
<HR>
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