Service Squad: empowering youth to give back

This past year at Boys & Girls, I had the honor of teaching Service Squad, a civic engagement program that encourages youth to give back to their communities. Early in the curriculum I was unsure of how that the kids would engage with the material, but as the year progressed I really began to see the impact the program had on youth.

The anti-bullying curriculum was one of the most impactful and my personal favorite. The youth espoused this whole-heartedly. I think they all could relate to the “being bullied” part, and I think they began to consider as well, when they may have been the bullies. We did “What to Say to a Bully” cards which were a hit, and many of the kids learned the respectful one line come-backs and also that they needed to walk away. I know that got this message and I’m hopeful they have some tools to see them into their futures.

Another part of the curriculum that really bloomed was their work with senior citizens. The kids wrote letters to the elderly and were delighted when some of the seniors wrote back. We partnered with a local Retirement and Assisted Living Center, and we are in the process of developing a Pen Pal Program and letters are starting to trickle through.

The kids also enjoyed writing letters of thanks during “Thanks to our Law Enforcement” week, donated stuffed animals to local police and fire stations, created a buddy bench to address bullying, made cards and artwork for Meals on Wheels during the holidays, and planted seeds to spruce up their Club.

To sum up my experience with Service Squad: “Sometimes even those of us who have a lifetime of experience fail to see that changes don’t always come from a flood- sometimes it is just the erosion of many drops over the same pathway over and over.”