Things that inspired me during Week 1:
a. Team
Woodlawn’s enthusiasm and creative energy. Not only do we get
along perfectly, but we know how to put minds together to come up with a great
product. This became apparent during our brainstorming session for our service
project; Sierra suggested an incredible idea (which I think we should keep
secret for now!) and the rest of us started jumping in with new things to add.
b. The idea of community assets. In Team Woodlawn’s schedule, we included large blocks of time for “community exploration.” Initially, I was worried that we would run out of things to do. I could not have been more wrong. In just two mornings spent in Woodlawn, we have already done the following: explored the Woodlawn Charter School and its garden, found a youth center filled to the brim with kids playing basketball and watching movies, been on a tour of the enormous Apostolic Church of God (and its swimming pool, tennis courts, and television studio, among other resources!), been to the South Side YMCA and had our blood pressure taken, and toured the Woodlawn Fire Department. What most struck me was how friendly and eager to help everyone was. We would just show up, and people opened their doors with a smile, listened to what we had to say, showed us around, and really talked to us. Olivia later told me that she, a Woodlawn resident, was surprised by all that Woodlawn had to offer!
c. The work that citizens on the South Side are doing right now to improve their communities. On Tuesday, we went to an Expanded Anti-Violence Initiative (or EAVI) meeting for the police district that includes Woodlawn. EAVI meetings include both police officers and community members (some there as concerned citizens, some acting in an official capacity), and the program stresses the necessity of mutual cooperation between the two groups to fight crime.
The
high school students were bored out of their minds by this event, and I can
understand why; the issues discussed (muggings, gang activity, loitering) are
nothing new to them. What interested me, however, were not just the issues
themselves, but the whole idea of community meetings and the types of people
that attend them. I have never considered going to one in either my
neighborhood in Brooklyn or in Hyde Park . As I
sat through the meeting, I wondered: Who is my own community? How can I most
effectively give back to it?
d. The power of wisdom and experience. Team Woodlawn met with Joyce and Rudy Nimocks, a couple which has lived in Woodlawn for 60 years. They are both friends with the Obamas (the high school students’ eyes widened at this point in the conversation). And they are both devoted to the Woodlawn community.
Here are some links about them
and the work they have done:
Despite their accomplishments,
they were humble and kind. They asked the high school students what they wanted
to do for a living, and complimented Aliyah’s beautiful artwork (which was
hanging on the wall of the coffee shop we were in!) Their friendliness, energy,
and caring about young people reminded me of my own grandparents. Rudy beamed
when I told him this.
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