Reflections from a Civic Engagement Project Leader: Service Comes Full Circle

October, 27 2012 was City Year’s Make a Difference service project at Story School, which was my fifth service event with City Year. I have held a variety of different roles at various levels for these projects, from the humble volunteer to the proud planner. This is my journey and a cycle that is about to come full circle.

It all started January, 17 2011, during City Year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day service project at South Division High School. I was in the process of applying for City Year Milwaukee when the Recruitment Department called and asked me to come to their upcoming service event. I thought that this might be a good way to learn more about City Year, as well as give City Year a chance to learn a little more about me. After watching “PT” which was a group of people who run out on stage jogged in circles while cheering  loudly, I was brought to my project where I spent the day painting talking to a City Year Cleveland Alumni and a few UWM students about both City Year and their lives. After the completion of our project I can vividly remember going home and telling everyone how excited I was about City Year and how I hoped that I would get accepted.

Fast forward to April, 30 2011. I decided to attend another service day called South Side Service Day, at Alexander Mitchell Integrated Arts School. I was now a confirmed Corps Member for the 2011-2012 service year. After talking to a few familiar faces and some light physical training which I know understood was PT, we began service. This time I was in a teacher’s classroom cleaning, organizing, hanging jacket hooks and painting numbers. I had the same feeling as before. I was ecstatic and looking forward to the upcoming year.

Fast forward again to August 15, 2011. The time had finally come, it was my first official day as a Corps Member. How did I spend the majority of the day? Digging a big hole that collected water, so when it rained the water wouldn’t erode the river banks at the Urban Ecology Center. I can honestly say as someone who has come from a trade where I have dug my fair share of holes and trenches, that this was the most fun I have ever had digging a hole. A few short weeks later, I was told that I was going to be part of the Civic Engagement Team, the team that plans City Year’s service projects. To be honest I had mixed feelings about this at first, until we started planning our first event. I found it incredibly exciting selecting and designing murals that could be painted at Northwest Secondary School for City Year’s Make a Difference Day service project. It was even more exciting that we were going to be holding Make a Difference Day at the school I was then serving at. I quickly decided that I was going to do everything that I could to do to make this day go as smoothly as possible.

I think this project is truly what awoke my passion for physical service and the power of its transformative influences. I spent a portion of my corps year doing everything that I possible could do and think of to become the next Civic Engagement Project Leader, who coordinates and leads service projects, for City Year Milwaukee.

In addition to serving as a tutor, mentor, role model, leading PT and being a part of a team that hosted externals, I also had the opportunity to create several extended service learning projects in our afterschool program. Northwest Secondary’s Global Youth Service Day was a particularly successful event. I had recently accepted the Civic Engagement Project leader position for 2012-2013 and the first chanceto plan an event on my own. I planned a variety of projects that allowed students to use their artistic ability, as well as gave them a chance to perform light construction. First, the students took down several cabinet doors in our City Year room, sanded the old paint off, sketched and painted new murals and rehung the doors. It was awesome seeing the students really getting into their artwork and bragging about how good of painters they were. The second project we completed was a bottle cap mural bench. This bench has a 12 inch back that is screwed to the back where a mural would usually be painted. However, instead of painting a mural we attached bottle caps, in a similar method to laying tile, incorporating both the school’s and city years logo we created a success themed mural. The best part of this project was that in honor of the many Global Youth Service Day projects that took place across the city there was an award ceremony at Discovery World. We had submitted a video of our project to be shown at the ceremony and entered into a project contest. As a result of the competition Northwest students won 25 cinch backpacks that were distributed to all the students who participated in our event. Additionally, students who came to Discovery World to watch their video got to spend the rest of their time enjoying all of the attractions at Discovery World.

This year I am serving as the Civic Engagement Project Leader for City Year Milwaukee and on October 27^th my team of Civic Engagement Coordinators and myself planned and coordinated our first large scale service day for Make a Difference Day. 126 volunteers came out to Story School and truly made a difference. We painted over 80 murals and quotes, which included college logos, sport silhouettes, story characters and historical figures in themed hallways. The murals and quotes will help to create an environment focused around academic success, reading and choice extracurricular activities. Additionally, volunteers renewed Story’s outdoor classroom by adding mulch and raising and refreshing the existing garden bed at the school’s entrance. On top of that, we built two benches where parents can watch their kids play on the playground, and one, a planter bench, will give students a place to watch plants grow. With 92% of volunteers replying with “good” or “great” responses on our surveys, I was taken aback by all of the positive feedback. I cannot put into words how proud I was after this event. To me it was unlike any event that I have ever been a part of. I felt as if all of the hard work that went into selecting the right murals, paint and locations all boiled down to that one day. Seeing all the volunteers happy, having fun, painting and making a difference… well nothing could be better than that.

In another six months I will have the honor to graciously pass along the reigns to another young and enthusiastic Project Leader who I will humbly serve with at the following year’s service projects. 

Yours in service, 
Kevin Zahn
Civic Engagement Project Leader
City Year Milwaukee

City Year Milwaukee Corps celebrates second year of impactful service

This gallery contains 3 photos.

After a fantastic year of impacting young people and making a difference in the community, The 2011-12 City Year Milwaukee Corps held its graduation ceremony on June 8, 2012 at the Milwaukee Public Theatre in downtown Milwaukee.

Believing in the power of young people

City Year has a lot of core values that our service is based on and grows in. One of these values is the belief in the power of young people.  Youth often get a bad rap due to their choice in what I like to call the “experimental” decisions in which others observe and make conclusive judgments. As a young person, there are a lot of opportunities to do the wrong thing, which is why I like to offer the students I support the chance to do positive, esteem building activities.

I work with sixth graders at Rogers Street Academy, and I’ve often heard my class be called the “worst class in the school.”  When the weather started to warm up and other classes began going on field trips, I begged my partner teacher to allow our class the same opportunity. With the classes shaky behavior performance he was reluctant, but he agreed that as long as I could raise enough money to pay for a bus then he would acquiesce. Since the money was for the class, I turned to the class for assistance with fund raising ideas. A group of students called Math Buddies (8 students who are paired up to train in math) came up with the idea of selling flower pens and ran with it. Now the math buddy students are an amazing group of kids who work with me personally. Four of them struggle in math, while the other four excel in the subject. Those students who struggle in math receive “training” from their peer partner to help them get up to speed with mathematical concepts that they struggle with. Since the start of the Math Buddy program I watched these students flourish and I had a strong belief that they would be able to take on the entire fund raising process as a project.

To my amazement those 8 students not only completed the project but raised enough money for two busses. Although, the money was the main goal in the project, I was more impressed at the growth I saw in my students. For example *Maria, a new student at the start of the year (which is no small deal at a school like Rogers where students and their siblings grew up in the same walls) showed up with a lot on her plate. Underneath her bubbly personality, she hid a lot of hurt from verbal and physical abuse from her family. Her home life often left her feeling insignificant, and unimportant when approached with difficult tasks. I was astonished to see her completely step out of her shell and become a creative business woman, with bright ideas and enthusiasm over giving announcements to the entire school. When the time came to sell the pens she took accurate, efficient orders. The way she handled customers surpassed many sells associates I’ve dealt with in my life.

*Frank was another student who stepped up. Toward the beginning of the school year Frank made a vow to me that by the end of the year he would be known as the “baddest” boy in the class. Frank was never supposed to become a Math Buddy, because of his grades in math class. One day he asked me if he could join the group, and I was cautious about whether he would be able to handle it, but since he hadn’t stuck to his vow I allowed him to join. When we began our fundraising project Frank sprung to the lead became our major teacher communication liaison. If anyone ever had a question about flower pens, Frank was the man with the answers. Watching Frank use his extrovert personality, and attention to detail to help lead a project for his class, made me proud.

Witnessing all of the Math Buddies put together a “store” and run it was one of the most rewarding things I did all year. I know the amazing things my students can do, but to be able to show that to the school, and more importantly to themselves outside of the cliché testing environment, proved to be an inspiring feat for everyone involved. My partner teacher was shocked at the success of the sell. I was and forever will be impressed at the power of young people.

-Shamain Love, 2011-12 City Year Milwaukee Corps

L.A.C.Y. – Leadership After City Year

Yes, the end of our “City Year” is almost upon us and, for many, the end will most definitely be very bitter-sweet.  It seems like yesterday that we met the sixty other young people with whom we’d share this journey. I can still vividly recall the moment I met my fellow South Division H.S. school team members; the excitement and elation that accompanied that moment has yet to fade. We were wide eyed, young people. Now, we’re wiser and more well rounded. Or, at least we’d like to think so.

As the year comes to a close, many corps members are working hard to solidify their future plans. They are busily researching job opportunities for the summer and beyond. “What will I do after City Year?” is a question we’ve all asked ourselves. For some, they will be returning for a second “City Year” – a chance to lead a new group of wide-eyed, young people. Others, they will be headed elsewhere, maybe, to graduate school or to work for another non-profit organization.

Wherever we are headed, we will always have our “City Year.” We will forever be a part of the City Year legacy here in Milwaukee. Following in the footsteps of the City Year Milwaukee founding corps, we wrote countless session plans, reached 15 hours of dosage with our focus list students, and served as tutors, mentors, and role models in our schools.

The end of this year, the end of anything really, brings out a variety of emotions for people. We will be sad to say goodbye to our students, even if they have tested our patience at times. Surely, a few tears will be shed as the last of our students exit the squeaky schools doors on the last day of our service. Yet, despite it all, we can all leave with our head high and be proud of the past nine months. We have committed over 1700 hours in service to the Milwaukee youth.

- Zachary Cloutier, Corps Member, South Division High School

Wordlesss Wednesday: Training with Public Allies Milwaukee

“A Day in the Life”

by Pa Houa Xiong, Rockwell Automation Team serving at Rogers St. Academy

As the Rogers Street Academy Civic Engagement Coordinator, I had the pleasure of organizing a Neighborhood Clean-up with the Don & Sallie Davis Boys & Girls Club. In collaboration with Cody, the Character and Leadership Coordinator for the Don & Sallie Davis Boys & Girls Club, we were able to plan an eventful night.

On May 10, more than 80 volunteers were engaged in an event filled with service learning. We collaborated with Rockwell Automation by inviting and recruiting volunteers.

Donna, a Rockwell volunteer, was great in co-leading a team of volunteers during the clean-up with Ashley and helping out with the art show contest.  The large number of volunteers greatly shows the connection and commitment between the families, friends and neighbors of Rogers Street Academy. It was great to see so many people involved and supporting each other.

The volunteers were able to participate in a neighborhood clean-up and an up-cycle art show contest lead by my teammate, Nancy. Art work was created by our very own After School Heroes students in our afterschool program to be on display at the pizza party. Art projects were made from items such as toilet paper rolls, wine corks and plastic soda bottles which greatly demonstrated our student’s creative and artistic abilities.

The Neighborhood Clean-up was truly a team collaboration event. I am so grateful for my team and their efforts in making the event as successful as possible. My team was very supportive in so many ways like creating a beautiful flyer and banner to advertise the event. I could also depend on my team with help in recruiting volunteers and leading groups of volunteers during the clean-up. Each team member supported the event by either leading or co-leading a group of volunteers while cleaning a specific area of the neighborhood. My in-kinding team, made up of three team members was so supportive by their consistent and dependable efforts in in-kinding enough pizza to feed all of our volunteers. Thank you to Ned’s Pizza, Palermo’s Pizza and Times Square Bistro and Pizzeria for the delicious pizzas! I couldn’t have done it without my team and I am proud to say that I am a part of the Rockwell Automation team at Rogers Street Academy!

City Year Milwaukee’s Hopkins-Lloyd Community School team featured on MPS portal Web site

To view the entire article click here.

Additional photos can be viewed here.