What a Joy
The after school program has just begun, and even thought it was my second year at Casa Linda I was still a little bit nervous, because I knew I was going to see new faces. As I entered the classroom I was excited to see the kids and then I realized that many faces were familiar. When I saw one of my favorite kids and it just made my day. His name is Juan and I love this kid because he is always smiling and that smile made me realize that the only reason I came back as a year round intern was to see how happy each of our kids enjoy been at Casa Linda. As much as I love Casa Linda I know the kids love it too because they love the help they get from us the interns, as well as the lovely volunteers we have at our site. I am so excited about what this upcoming year at Casa Linda brings us and what joy it will be to spend time with the kids.
Angelica Dominguez
Project Transformtion Intern 2011-2012
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Dream, Dream Dream
At Elmwood, we made dream catchers and told our kids the history behind them. I watched their faces light up with interest as we explained that they were used to catch bad dreams and only the good ones where able to pass through. The kids were very excited and eager to make their own dream catchers in hopes that it would “keep the nightmares away,” Daniela told me. As I watched them hard at work, knowing that the assignment was about making something that would catch bad dreams, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of dreams would get caught in their dream catchers and what dreams they would will let pass through. Not only while they sleep, but as they live, learn and grow. What dreams would they pursue and which ones would get caught up in their webs? We have some pretty big dreamers here at Elmwood who have high hopes of becoming veterinarians, police officers, singers and much more. I feel so blessed to be in a position where I am able to encourage them to pursue their dreams and even catch some of the bad ones for them.
Whitney Parson
Elmwood Site Coordinator 2011-2012
Fields of Flowers
As I sit by the door to greet the kids,I look at their adorable faces on the Who’s Who Wall. They look so innocent and full of life. As I look at each picture,the usual early bird, Eunice, is the first one through the door. I ask her how her day was and she says great. She takes her homework out and walks over to one of the tables. A few minutes later a handful of the children arrive. As I ask them how their day went, each child hands me a little flower. These are not the usual roses or daisy’s that one would expect but the flowers that grow on the grass that are considered weeds. As each one hands me one, they each give me a huge smile and tell me this is for you miss. How can one even judge the “weed” flowers, when each child gave with their great hearts and huge smiles? All I can say is the children of Christ’s Foundry give me a sense of happiness through their innocence and thankfulness through the simple gifts they give me on their arrival. This is when I know it’s going to be a great day at site.
Michelle Vasquez
Site Coordinator 2011-2012
Global Dwellings
If you search on Youtube “24 rooms in a tiny Hong Kong apartment”, you will be amazed to find someone who has used their mind and creativity to create an amazing living space out of the small space where he lived. I smiled as I heard my kids shout out in amazement as they watched the video clip, “That is so cool!!” or “How did he do that?” I knew they finally got the idea that it didn’t matter what your environment is; your creativity and your mind can build wondrous things. We began our discussion on “Houses Around the World”, and I showed them pictures of houses from places like India, Antartica, Africa, and asked them to identify the material of the house and what place the house comes from. I was delighted to find out my kids knew a lot about geography, and were able to understand how other people lived around the globe. Finally, I asked them to get in teams and build their “Dream House” using various materials that I gave them such as cardboard boxes, legos, geometric shapes, pipecleaners, tissue paper, etc. It was amazing to see what creative spaces they made using only the materials given to them. I hope I drove the lesson home with my kids this week in that no matter what your space or environment is, you can make anything positive and beautiful with a little bit of creativity and imagination.
Suja Chacko
Site Coordinator 2011-2012
Finding my groove
When is the last time you did something for the first time? As I enter my last term with Project Transformation, I feel confident I’ve been groomed for this position. I am no longer, a reading volunteer, no longer an intern, or reading coordinator, but Oak Cliff UMC’s site coordinator. Wow, so what’s next? After learning about how Project Transformation works summer after summer, its time to create. To put in the Oak Cliff area my perspective on education and art, and I felt completely welcomed at my new site. Already familiar with everyone in the office, I feel like you can never be an expert, there’s always something to learn. Whether it is my team’s dreams for programming, my executive directors favorite lunch meal, or ways to express myself. Oak Cliff has personality. My site is in the basement and the Project Transformation office is on third floor and from there to the top level, this church is working, always creating, and I’m inspired to do the same and try to continue a legacy of servant leadership.
Antoine Girard
Oak Cliff Site Coordinator 2011-2012
On the Right Track
The first 2 weeks in the after school program have been awesome. I really missed the kids from the summer program, and I am happy a lot of them returned for the after school program. My favorite part of the program is when one of my 4th graders, Hector, runs up and gives me a hug every day when he comes in. I think I’m doing something right if all the kids show love. This just proves I’m on the right track in my life. Teaching is what I want to do and being around the kids just makes me even more excited to be a teacher. I’m glad I found out about Project Transformation because it is showing me my real passion and what I want to be out of life.
Destiny Harris
Project Transformation Intern 2011-2012
Nothing Excellent comes Easy
Though this is my third year to intern with Project Transformation, this is my first year as a site coordinator. I realize now that it is harder than it looks. As many familiar faces walked into the youth program on the first day, I realized that they looked to me to lead the program. I realize that it was up to me set the tone and the atmosphere of the program. I started off the week very energetic, however, by Thursday of the following week, I felt as though I had exhausted all my energy. As I filled out the necessary paperwork, I noticed that a new kid had entered the program each day. Attendance for the youth program, which has always been a struggle with Wesley Rankin, was growing. Kids were choosing to come to this program when there were other choices out there.
On Wednesday of this week, during the program, I looked out the window and saw a big group of middle school and high school kids fighting. Police came eventually and they all ran away. I am happy to say that none of the youth in my program were involved.
Though I know the work sometimes is difficult, I know that nothing excellent comes easy. I pray that God continues to give me the strength to lead a program that transforms the youth in this West Dallas community.
Larry Randolph
Site Coordinator 2011-2012
Intern of the Month: Andrea Gordon
Name: Andrea Gordon
Hometown: Garland, TX
College: University of North Texas
Major: Development and Family Studies
PT Site: Oak Cliff
Why did you want to serve as an intern at PT?
Project Transformation has countless opportunities for growth and leadership working with children and youth within the community. I am very passionate about working with children in the community and wanted to gain leadership opportunities. At PT, the opportunity to impact and empower children and youth is at your feet, while also having the opportunity to grow as an individual and a leader.
What is the most important lesson you have learned from working with children/youth?
Be prepared. ‘Expect the unexpected’. When working with children and youth, I’ve learned that you have to be prepared for anything to come your way and you have to be ready and willing to make the necessary changes in order to adapt. Being able to adapt and work with those changes is something that I’ve learned to handle.
What is your favorite part of the Project Transformation experience?
As of right now, my favorite part of the experiences at Project Transformation is building relationships with the children and team members and also getting the hands-on experience with the after-school program. I’ve been excited to come to work each day and see what’s in store for the day.
If you could tell one story from your experience at PT – what story would you tell?
Watching the children do a music video with puppets to Justin Bieber’s song “Baby”. We had the children perform a puppet show to one of the stories we had read to them earlier in the week. After they finished with the story, they did a music video for Justin Bieber’s song “Baby” with their puppets. The kids had so much fun with it and it was so much fun to be a part of. I think it was a great bonding experience between the children and the team.
Bitter Sweet Feelings
It’s so weird to not be in school right now. After 19 years of my life going to school, I was used to going home and doing my homework. But now that I’m not in school, it feels so weird to just come home and not needing to do that reading assignment due in two days, studying for that hard exam the next day, or stressing out. It’s a funny thing that I can say that I’m an adult on my own and working a 9:30am-7pm shift at work. I’m still trying to adjust to this newly changed lifestyle. I didn’t expect to be here at Project Transformation doing the After School Program. Unexpected events happened in my life and here I am. I unexpectedly finished school at Southwestern College early and with a degree I really wasn’t going for. But isn’t life that way at times? Things happening that we are not prepared for? I for one can say this is a theme of my life. Throughout childhood things would happen in my life and I wouldn’t understand why. When my freshmen year of college came around and I became a member of an organization called Discipleship at Southwestern College and with their help I realized that sometimes things happen for a reason. They happen for a reason so that we can be the people we are today. I’m excited to see where God is leading me. I feel I’m exactly where I need to be and that is here in Dallas at Project Transformation with the kids of Christ’s Foundry.
Michelle Vasquez
Site Coordinator, 2011-2012
Suja Chacko
Best concert of your life? Gavin Degraw in Austin- I met him afterwards
