Service Site

So far at my service site I have had a blast. I go to the RPAC every Friday for two hours before class and basically just hang out with the participants. There are about 6-10 participants there every Friday from ADD (Adults with Developmental Disabilities). Fridays are their fitness days so we either play tennis, ping pong if it's raining, run on the track or just hang out in the Nike Lounge Room in the basement of the RPAC. So far every Friday it has been the same participants; Leena, Alex, Jane, Matt, George and Andrew. I treat each of them a little different because just like everyone else, they have their own personality. For example, Jane is older than everyone else and likes to talk more about her school work, chores and health. Leena on the other hand, is just like one of my friends. She loves to laugh, goof around, dance, sing and meow. I think one of the biggest things I've learned so far though is to not treat them as if they do have a disability. In the beginning when we would play tennis, I used to always go get the ball for Matt and Jane when they missed it but I realized through class that I don't need to do something for them that they can do for themselves. Once I realized that, I stopped treating them as if they were a kid and started treating them like they were my friends. The most interesting thing to me from volunteering through Buckeye Connections is how high functioning all of these participants are. Even Andrew who is in an electric wheelchair, can't talk or eat without a feeding tube, can still do quite a bit. In class we always talk about how we shouldn't treat others differently based on their race, class, ability, sexual orientation, etc. . .and I agreed with that before volunteering and even more so after my experience thus far. These six talented adults have showed me that they can still do pretty much everything an "abled" adult can do. I have incredible respect for them and because of this service site, I think I look at people who are different than me in another light now. I always knew that just because someone is different, regardless of how, that it doesn't mean anything but this experience has just made that belief SO much stronger. The only difference I can really think of is the issue of race, class, gender and sexual orientation. In class we have talked about how these identities have and still do create certain social statuses in life and stereotyping. But with Matt, George, Alex, Andrew, Leena and Jane, these aren't issues. They could care less about any of these things and they treat each other, the staff and the volunteers all the same regardless of any of those characteristics. It's kind of a a nice change of pace to volunteer in a such an innocent and carefree environment.