Help With Homework at Cabrillo

Jazmin and I did our volunteering at Cabrillo Elementary. We decided to volunteer there because we volunteered there our freshman year. We already knew the staff there somewhat and we knew they would let us volunteer there because we really did help them our freshman year. Our job this year is to help kids with their homework and such during their afterschool program. We are helping kids that are grades 2-4. We have been leaving to Cabrillo straight after school. We get to Cabrillo around 3:10p.m. And we usually leave around 4:30p.m. So that adds up to a little over an hour each day. We are planning to volunteer 2-3 days every week to get this project done, but Jazmin and I are really thinking about volunteering there for the rest of the year because we really like volunteering there.

            
Upon arrival the first day we volunteered Eddie, the guy in charge greeted us happily because he remembered us. The first thing he told us is that if we could help some of the kids learn a dance to perform for Cinco de Mayo. When we first volunteered our freshman year we taught some kids a dance for them to perform on Cinco de Mayo, so Eddie asked if we could do it again. We sadly told him that we could not commit to that because we would have exactly 7 days to get the dance together and get the kids to learn it. That would also mean we would have to go every day after school so it could be 7 days. We just didn’t have enough time for that. So we just said we would volunteer helping kids with their homework. We noticed that there was about 30 kids, but only 2 adults helping this group of kids. There are other adults but they help the fifth graders and sixth graders and stuff. So we are really glad to help and I know the kids and the teachers are too. I truly feel I am making a difference at that school. I’m actually working with the kids and it’ really nice to get to help them one on one and I know it makes a difference for them. There were surprisingly other students from Washington volunteering there too. Heidy Ortiz was also volunteering there and she asked one of the students if he needed help and he responded no with a very serious face. It had to be the most memorable moment. 

All in all it was a fun and good experience. In order for the program to work the students must like it and we should also like it because if none of us like it then the program just doesn’t work. I love volunteering there because the kids are so wonderful; they are really respectful and funny. At about 4p.m. the kids get a little break where they all get to go outside and they have snacks and just hang out for a quick 10 minutes. During this time we got to interact with all of them. If we have a better relationship with the students it is easier for us to get along with them and help them.

Me helping a third grader with her homework