From the Source: Savannah and Outside Service with Playworks

Another installment in our series where Chicago Health Corps members write about a service experience of their choice, in their own words

Dear Reader,

It is with great enthusiasm I write today about an organization dear to my heart. Playworks is a non-profit organization committed to inspiring safe, inclusive, and healthy physical activity in low-income schools across the country. In a Playworks school, students are active at recess, after school and in the classroom. The interaction is positive, accessible, and fun, in a way that enhances learning, teaches life skills, and promotes healthy living.

I have witnessed first-hand the developmental sports leagues directed by energetic Playworks coaches during after-school hours. These sports leagues allow students from any income level to learn the rules and skills necessary to be an athlete. Parents and student athletes gather for the evening games, proud to represent their schools. The score of the game is not kept. The focus is entirely on learning the game, building character, and having fun. The atmosphere is electric and light-hearted. Parents and players are cheering for both teams, indiscriminately. Most touching, in my view, was seeing the children, during time-outs and after the game, being prompted by coaches to share the positive things they saw their teammates doing on the court. No one was placing blame. The focus was around what the team was doing right. There is also a rare breed of sportsmanship taking place on the court. Sometimes, with 5 minutes until game time, a team would be short 2 or 3 players, and without fail, members of the other team were volunteering to help balance the teams, trading out their jerseys, smiling and learning the names of the other school’s players, and the game goes on.

For me Playworks is a vision of what all schools in America can and perhaps should be. Not a place where physical education is slipped in, grudgingly for some, merely to meet federal requirements. Not a place where recess is a distraction and a springboard for behavior issues which then spill into the classroom. In a Playworks school there is an authentic incorporation of play into the life of the student. Here young people are appreciating that physical activity is an enjoyable part of their life style not an unwelcome and disorganized ritual. A healthy relationship with playing and learning is what perpetuates my deep respect for Playworks, their mission and method, and is the reason I hope to continue volunteering with Playworks in the years to come. I invite anyone who is similarly impressed by the good work of Playworks to join their volunteer team and we’ll see you at the next game!

-Savannah Jackson

Below are photos of three Chicago Health Corps members, volunteering at the recent Playworks Chicago Volleyball Extravaganza. This event kicked off the co-ed volleyball season for the Playworks schools in the city. Everyone had a great time bumping, setting, spiking, and serving! Go Playworks!

Coach Becca creates safety in a drill where students practice
 good control by trying to hit the cones.

The players are practicing their very best bumping with Coach Savannah.

Coach James catches a loose ball as students practice aiming their serves toward the basketball hoop.

Meet the Members: Lisa-Sun

Name: Lisa-Sun Gresham

Hometown: Wilton, Connecticut

College attended: Roanoke College, in Salem VA with a double major in Theatre and Sociology.

Fun fact: When I was in highschool I hid a picture of actor Brent Spiner - "Data" from Star Trek: The Next Generation, behind my coats and spent time swooning over him inbetween classes. I also used popular male singers as a diversionary tactic on my locker door so no one would suspect my infatuation. I still love Data to this day. I am 25. Not ashamed.

Favorite quote:

"In everyday life, "if" is a fiction, in the theatre "if" is an experiment.  In everyday life, "if" is an evasion, in the theatre "if" is the truth.  When we are persuaded to believe in this truth then the theatre and life are one.  This is a high aim.  It sounds like hard work.  To play needs much work.  But when we experience the work as play, then it is not work anymore. A play is play.” -Peter Brook

What you did before AmeriCorps?  I have been in AmeriCorps for the past two years before joining CHC where I was a VISTA in Louisville, KY serving at YMCA Safe Place Services which has an 24 hour 365 day emergency shelter for youth, extensive outreach system, and mentoring program- YNOW Mentoring Children of Prisoners. Then I moved to the absolutely majestic and serene mountains of Hillsboro, WV where I served at High Rocks Educational Corporation, a leadership and empowerment organization for young girls that provides tutoring, mentorship and opportunities for young women to express their voices and creativity. I've taught classes, workshops, been camp staff, volunteered in mentoring groups and written grants for funding. Before my years of AmeriCorps I was a cashier for a local grocery store back in CT.

Does your past work or school experience apply to your year of service? Most definitely! If it wasn't for my years of previous service I do not feel I could be an effective teacher or engage youth the way I do.  My theatre/sociological experience from school helped in a very practical sense; I can project my voice to a crowded classroom in a fun interactive way and recognize many social factors that have greatly improved my understanding of classroom management.

Why did you choose to do AmeriCorps? Simply, I believe in service. I have grown in mind, heart, and spirit through serving others and been welcomed into each community warmly. Service isn't easy, you can feel overwhelmed and face moments of breakdown/burnout from the stress but when compared with the positive impact of AmeriCorps, the stress is negligible.

What are you doing as an AmeriCorps member? I serve at the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago as an Asthma Health Educator.  I go into schools across the greater Chicagoland area and teach asthma classes to 3rd-8th graders and lead adult sessions for parents, staff, and childcare providers. Sometimes the nurses sneak in what are affectionately dubbed "the babies" or K-2nd graders, and yes, I teach them too.

What are your plans after AmeriCorps, and how does your year of service apply to your future plans?  After AmeriCorps I am attending graduate school at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA for a Masters in Counseling Psychology Drama Therapy.  My year of service has been a boon, exposing me to health disparities of all types, and I plan on focusing on the mental and emotional health of at-risk adolescents. 

Favorite part of CHC so far?  I am so happy for the other CHC members and how they have enriched my year here, but if pressed I would choose the kids.  Their bright eyes, smiles, endless questions, funny tiny voices, weird totally off-topic stories they tell in class, their frustrations, combative anger, the silent brooder, and even the occasional belligerency.  I am reminded with every class why I enjoy the challenge of teaching.

Deep Thoughts from the Chicago Health Corps: Is there anything better than Jackie Chan holding a plate of hot wings? Please explain.Such a hard question to answer! The only way this situation could be any better, is if I had Jackie and his hot wings standing next to Data and a replicator. And I'd be sitting on a Vespa.  If there is one thing people know about me, I ADORE hot wings, Jackie Chan, Vespas, and Data.

From the Source: Nina at Erie Family Health Center--Humboldt Park

     Once a month, Erie Family Health Center--Humboldt Park offers a class called Diabetes Mes por Mes. Diabetes Mes por Mes is a great way to give people with diabetes the opportunity to learn more about their disease and management strategies, gain support, and share common frustrations. All classes are held in Spanish. So far, we have covered the following topics: nutrition, mental health, staying healthy during the holidays, and traveling safely with diabetes. We make sure to give patients simple ways to achieve better health. For example, we taught an entire class devoted to healthy cooking tips. We showed patients how to cook a variety of vegetables and demonstrated portion sizes. In addition, we discussed healthy flavoring alternatives to salt and outlined healthy recipes. To demonstrate that cooking healthy can be easy and tasty, we cooked a vegetable soup for each patient to sample. Each patient went home with a healthy recipe packet.

      Since October 2011, Diabetes Mes por Mes attendance has doubled. There are 80 participants who have attended one or more classes. Each month more and more patients are referred into the program. We hope to continue to expand the group and find creative ways to help patients understand diabetes and practice healthy disease-management strategies.

Meet the Members: Neerja

Name: Neerja Joshi

Hometown: Racine, WI

College attended: University of Chicago

Fun fact: I've never lived more than five minutes from Lake Michigan (Woohoo Midwest!)

Favorite Quote:
"HELP! HELP! HELP! The world is calling, heal the world and in the process heal yourself, find the human in yourself by finding the citizen, the activist, the hero." --Tony Kushner (2004 Columbia College Class Day address)



What you did before AmeriCorps? 
I worked as a research assistant in a sleep lab at the University of Chicago. I also spent most of my time outside of class volunteering with Health Leads, a national non-profit organization that mobilizes college students to connect low-income families with social service resources within a clinical setting.  I worked as a fellow with Health Leads (then Project HEALTH) during the summer after my first year of college in which I co-developed and conducted a community outreach project for them.  That opportunity to visit community organizations across the South Side of Chicago not only taught me to think about communities in terms of their assets instead of their deficiencies, but it also strongly influenced my understanding of health as being a function of a person's environment.

Did your past experience apply to your year of service?
The Sleep Lab gave me a realistic sense of how a clinic operates, and how tiring/irritating the experience of being in a hospital can be for a patient.  That was a good perspective to have going in to Stroger. Health Leads gave me case management experience, knowledge of community resources throughout Chicago, and an education in the gaps and barriers within the social safety net in the city.  This was a good baseline to build off of for conducting outreach to new patients at Stroger, and for assisting with basic case management.  I also served as a Program Coordinator with Health Leads, which involved managing a group of volunteers in a pediatric emergency room for three years, so I have experience in developing and maintaining volunteer programs. This has been extremely helpful for creating a volunteer program for the American Cancer Society at Stroger. 


Why did you choose to do AmeriCorps?
I knew that I wanted to take a year off before medical school, and I also knew that I wanted to spend that year working with a health-related non-profit organization. I was used to being allowed to develop and follow through with my ideas for running a program because of my experience with Health Leads,
but I couldn't find very many jobs that would allow me to be a valued team member and a direct service provider as a fresh college graduate.  AmeriCorps attracted me because it allowed me the opportunity to develop and participate in initiatives that could make a real impact upon the health outcomes of underserved populations straight out of college. Once I saw the huge variety of positions in which I could serve a community, I knew that I wanted to commit to a year of service with AmeriCorps, and the Chicago Health Corps in particular.

What are you doing as an AmeriCorps member?  
  I'm serving with the American Cancer Society in the Radiation Therapy Department at the John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County.  There are multiple components to my service position, so I wear a lot of different hats at any given point in a day. 

I reach out to new patients to let them know about the Patient Navigation Services program, which connects patients to ACS Clinical Navigators in the hospital who can provide them with information on cancer, emotional support, and day-to-day help.  I also provide basic case management services to patients, such as helping them navigate public benefits.  Additionally, I follow up with "no-show" patients, or patients who consistently miss appointments for radiation therapy, and address barriers that prevent them from accessing treatment.  My final task involves creating a volunteer program for the American Cancer Society at Stroger.

Direct quote from Neerja Joshi:"Gentrification has done me one wrong too many!"--what I exclaimed a few years ago when I found out that my favorite taqueria on Taylor Street had been replaced by a wine shop. 


Deep Thoughts from the Chicago Health Corps: If you were a superhero, who would you pick as your sidekick? And what would your respective powers be? 
Sidekick:
Dr. Horrible (from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog)!

Powers:
I think Dr. Horrible has a freeze ray that he uses to stop time.  Mine would probably be the ability to freeze things (as in make them really cold).  That would be so handy in the summertime!

CHC Service Day: At Apna Ghar

post written by CHC member, Lisa-Sun Gresham

Our service day, organized by CHC member Neerja Joshi, began on a cool morning at 9:00 a.m. where the CHC crew met at the main office of Apna Ghar, which means "our home".  This fabulous organization  provides "free, holistic services to women and children across immigrant communities in the Chicago area to end the cycle of domestic violence. Apna Ghar empowers women to be self-sufficient by providing a full spectrum of services from legal advocacy to emergency and transitional housing to counseling and case management".

After gathering at the main office, we travelled to their 24-hour emergency shelter, a place with a warm and inviting home-like atmosphere, where families can live both independently and share communal spaces. Our task for the day involved separating and organizing the large influx of donations they had received so that they could find what they were looking for quickly and with ease.  We sifted through bags and bags of donated clothing, toys, hygiene products, and even built a large standing shelf!

After a heart-felt thanks from the staff at Apna Ghar we made our way to the local library to have a thoughtful and sincere discussion centering on domestic violence.  The discussion activities were led by CHC members Lily Camp and Ayla Karamustafa, covering the common stereotypical perceptions of "perpetrators" and "victims" and how that can adversely affect the treatment and success of those facing domestic abuse. At the end of the day, we wrapped up on a lighter note and shared what we were looking forward to most for the summer- some of the responses: shedding the winter coats, biking, gardening, and eating tasty foods in the sunshine.


Here are local resources for anyone who may be facing domestic violence and looking for help:

Apna Ghar's Crisis Line: 800-717-0757
Chicago's Domestic Violence Help Line (Toll free, confidential, 24-hour, and multilingual): 1-877-863-6338

Jessica Takes Students from Orozco Elementary to Free Eye Clinic

Did you know that May is Healthy Vision Month!? We didn't either until we Googled it! To celebrate this special occasion we are featuring a special post from CHC member, Jessica Torres.

One component of my service position is to coordinate vision screenings and vision exams for students at Orozco.  I then assist students who failed their eye exam receive free glasses. With the help of the Chicago Public School Office of Special Education and Specials we are able to make this all possible.

On Monday April 23rd, an optometrist from Ageless Eye Care visited Orozco and provided 21 students with free eye exams and glasses if needed. The Thursday of that same week, we loaded up a school bus full of 34 Orozco students and traveled to the Princeton Clinic on the southside of Chicago. Here all students traveled from room to room getting their little eyeballs examined. In total 55 students were given free eye exams and more than half picked glasses frames and will receive free glasses in 4-6 weeks! 

One of my favorite parts of this project? Convincing kids that glasses cool! Throughout the week of April 23rd-27th  I had a number of conversations with students on the “coolness” of wearing glasses.

One specifically went like this:
“Uhhh Ms. Jessica I don’t want glasses, they just aren’t cool!”
“What are you talking about? I wear glasses.”
“Well I’ve never SEEN you in them.”
“Hahaha, fine. I’ll wear them everyday once you guys get yours. Deal?”
“Deal.”

So in 4-6 weeks when we receive a box full of glasses I’ll have to keep up my end of the deal and roam the school in my glasses just like all the other cool kids :)





Meet the Members: Ayla

Name: Ayla Karamustafa

Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri

College attended: Washington University in St. Louis, Class of 2011. Major: Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies and Minor: Creative Writing. I also spent a semester abroad at Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey.

Fun fact: I consume tomatoes at an alarming rate...

Favorite quote: "The erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings."
-Audre Lorde

What you did before AmeriCorps? 
Prior to CHC, I was finishing college, where I worked all 4 years as office assistant in the WGSS department. I've also interned at several local advocacy orgs in St. Louis like NARAL and Promo. Back in high school, I worked at Subway for several years, making me a certified sandwich artist.

Did your past work experience apply to your year of service?
Not directly. I've always been more involved in the activism/advocacy side of things- and this year has been a lot more direct service; I hope I can eventually find a job that combines all of these things!

Why did you choose to do AmeriCorps?
I wanted to do direct service, teach sex education, and also dabble in public health. CHC was a perfect fit!

What are you doing as an AmeriCorps member?
My host site is Erie Lake View, where I work in a school-based health center in a high school. My responsibilities include teaching sex ed classes, conducting 1 on 1 nutrition counseling with students, coordinating the monthly dental van, overseeing the "Get Yourself Tested" adolescent health campaign, and other organizational tasks around the clinic!

What are your plans after AmeriCorps, and how does your year of service apply to your future plans?
 To find a job related to LGBT advocacy or more sex education/outreach and potentially start applying to grad school.

Favorite part of CHC so far?
Rattlin' bog. (Editor's Note: Do you feel out of the loop? Confused? Like everyone is laughing without you? Click here and scroll to the bit just below the s'more photo to catch the reference.)

Deep Thoughts by the Chicago Health Corps: If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do?
 I would never make it as a circus performer... I'd be the backstage tech person doing lighting or sound, who at night would sneak back into the arena and unlock all the animals' cages so they could escape circus life!

Chicago Health Corps Connects with the Lakeview Food Pantry

Post by CHC member, Rebecca M.

Right between the boisterous Wrigley Field and the affluent Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, you find the Lakeview Food Pantry. Opening in 1970 part of the pantry’s’ mission is to “increase the independence of our clients through self-help initiatives and other innovative programs.”  Chicago Health Corps members have facilitated this initiative by providing health education sessions since January.

After serving at their host sites during the day, members traveled to the pantry and taught sessions for clients there every Wednesday evening.  The sessions ranged from a variety of topics like sexual and reproductive health, diabetes, asthma, and smoking cessation.  During these sessions the clients were empowered to make healthy lifestyle changes.  And healthy changes were made by two clients who were able to quit smoking after Danielle Nelson, a CHC member, facilitated a smoking cessation class/support group.

Members learned as much as the clients did while teaching the sessions.  While in the pantry, challenges such as food scarcity and other needs of the clients were apparent.  The basic needs of the clients would not have been met had the Lakeview Pantry not been there to offer assistance.  They offer home deliveries to clients, a choice market where clients can choose the food they want and specialty diabetic and heart healthy bags for patrons.

As a CHC volunteer said, “Spending time at the Lakeview Food Pantry has been an overwhelmingly positive experience.  The staff works to improve the lives of their clients who come in for food, but walk out with warm clothes, a full stomach, and feeling good about themselves.”  We are grateful for the opportunity with the pantry to assist an important agency within our community.



From the Source: Truck Farm Chicago with Farmer Sydney

A series of posts where Chicago Health Corps members write candidly about their service experiences.


Farmer Sydney here from Truck Farm Chicago! Farmer Tim, Farmer Shari, and I have been working to get Truck Farm Chicago back on the road for the past 5 months and what a journey it has been . . . Recruiting and organizing volunteers, scheduling school visits, writing many failed grants, and tracking down plants and compost and the season has only just begun (literally, season started last Monday)!

After dead batteries, flying-away hoop houses on Highway 94 (a mini greenhouse-like enclosure we put on the back of the truck to protect the plants), our movie-maker deciding to stay in the Philippians were he was visiting, a hacked website, and a spiffy new paint job, Truck Farm Chicago is back on the road! Keep your eyes out for a roaring engine, bright blue paint job, a truck filled with tiny baby plants, and happy farmers throwing vegetables out the window to gawking children.





One day soon our truck will look like this!