Autism Ontario Teen Group and Karate

CSLN visited Autism Ontario yesterday, April 6th, to participate in their Teen Group program. Boys and girls ranging in ages from 12 to 17 attended. CSLN  service-learners did arts and crafts, played board games and had fun hanging out with the participants.

For myself, I had the privilege of speaking with one boy for more than an hour and a half about world history and alternate histories. Beginning with the American Revolution and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, our talk moved to the Civil War, World War I, World War II (particularly the events at Stalingrad and Leningrad) and concluded with a discussion about Stephen Harper's superfluous spending. We had some great discussions about the "what ifs" of all these events. For example, what would be the ultimate outcome of WWII had France and Britain recognized the Confederate States as an independent nation during the American Civil War (and subsequently assisted them in defeating the Union forces)?

I consider myself fairly knowledgeable in North American and European history. It is a bit of a hobby of mine. However, I found myself being corrected  time and time again in some of my details (especially dates). It was a very interesting conversation and I learned a lot of  really cool trivia that I had no idea about before. Oh, did I mention? This boy is 12.

CSLN also actively participated in Autism Ontario's Karate Program. Over the course of 8 weeks we were able to see great improvement in the kids who attended. Plus, we learned some karate along the way!

Throughout our experience at Autism Ontario, CSLN service-learners discussed how our volunteering made a positive impact on the community and on ourselves. Many volunteers found it was a great learning experience as they had never worked with autistic children before and, in one case, did not really know what autism was. Volunteering with this organization was not only a lot of fun (eg. hanging out with the kids ) but it also fostered in us a greater sense of appreciation, tolerance and empathy for a brain disorder that most do not have much experience with.

-Michael Salna 

Make No Broken Bones About It!

On Saturday, March 26, the CSLN once again partnered with the London & Thames Valley Chapter of Osteoporosis Canada to help out with their Make No Broken Bones About It! public education forum. The event took place at Brescia University College and was attended by both men and women of all ages from London and the surrounding area. CSLN service-learners were active throughout the session to welcome guests, hand-out information packages, direct participants to the presentation rooms, and assist with various other tasks throughout the day.

Osteoporosis Canada is a national organization that seeks to raise awareness about osteoporosis prevention and provide support for individuals experiencing the effects of the disease. Costing over $1.9 billion in annual health care costs, osteoporosis is a disease that reduces bone mass causing bones to become porous and fragile. It is estimated that over 2 million Canadians have osteoporosis including 1 in 4 women and 1 in 8 men over the age of 50. Osteoporosis can strike at any age, however by monitoring one's diet and remaining physically active throughout the life course, it is possible to prevent significant bone deterioration well into old age.

CSLN service-learners had the opportunity to attend both the keynote sessions at the Make No Broken Bones About It! event. The first presentation, "Healthy Living for Healthy Bones" was by Noelle Martin, a registered dietician, who explained the effects of osteoporosis and how to obtain enough vitamins and minerals through food consumption to reduce these effects. Public health nurse, Amy Mak, facilitated the second presentation, "Stepping Out Safely" which informed participants about how to prevent falls.

In between presentations, the CSLN service-learners discussed how their presence at the Osteoporosis public education event was significant both to the organization they were helping, the participants and to each of us individually. A few of us come from Science and Health Studies backgrounds and we found it interesting to be able to relate our studies to the information presented by the keynotes. All of us felt grateful to be able to attend the session because of the valuable information we can now pass on to our own family members and friends. There was also that wonderful feeling of making a meaningful connection with a local London organization which can be summarized in the following thank-you we received from Osteoporosis Canada: "We love having the smiles, the enthusiasm and co-operation your group gives to us."

-Chloé Restivo 

The Mission Store

Throughout the year CSLN has been partnering with Mission Services of London. This is an organization that has many programs that provide emergency shelter, meals, clothing and other necessary resources to those in need. By providing these services they aim to improve the lives of the disadvantaged population in London. In December a group of Western students visited Rotholme, the family shelter of Mission Services of London, and enjoyed spreading the holiday spirit.

In January, 4 students spent an afternoon at the Mission Store. The Mission Store provides affordable clothing, linens, bedding, housewares and small appliances for families and individuals in need. There are 57 organizations in the London community that can refer individuals to the Mission Store with vouchers and then individuals can receive the items they need for free. Our small group of Western students sorted through donations and found some very entertaining treasures. The Mission Store receives an overwhelming amount of donations, there were probably 100 garbage bags of donations on the loading dock when we arrived (and half as many when we left). We were told over the holidays the loading dock was overflowing with donations, we were astounded by the generosity of the London community.

During reflection our group discussed how this service experience would change our future behaviours. All of us agreed, by understanding the needs of services like this, we will change what we donate. Many of the items that were donated could not be used. If we wouldn’t ask a family member to wear it, then it was not going to be sold at the Mission Store. The Mission Store aims to provide quality clothing to its clients; by providing dignifying items to the disadvantaged population, we can instill a sense of confidence in them. We might think that someone will want our shirt with a couple stains on it and a few holes, but we want to change the mindset, everyone deserves better. Overall, I think we will all think twice about what we donate next time, and I hope you will too.

- Alanna Morgan

Using Long Division to Make a Difference

I'm looking back to all those times during elementary school when I asked myself in frustration "When am I ever going to need to use this?", usually during math class. Now I have my answer. The Wilfred Jury Public school homework club is where the other service learners and I finally get to use skills like long division and French spelling that we so begrudgingly learned many years ago.

The Homework Club is highly organised, which makes it much easier for us to do our share of contributing to the school on a weekly basis. All the volunteers wear name tags (that we decorated ourselves, of course), there's snack time and also a ballot system that serves as an incentive for the kids to stay focused. We help out on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday afternoons.

Through reflection, it's become clear that it has been an extremely rewarding experience for us all. We've worked on communication techniques with children and how to motivate them to do more school work even after an entire day of sitting in class. Sometimes it's difficult too keep the kids focused, and unsurprisingly so. They've finished six hours of class which only includes 30 minutes of PE, I believe that's akin to seven consecutive UWO 50-min lectures with a quick stretch at the gym, which continues to shock me if I look at it that way. But the other service learners and I have shared our ideas on how to keep the kids focused and our techniques have been working quite well so far.

The kids have said that they are always very glad to have finished their work by the time they get home and have the rest of the evening to do whatever they please (apparently sleepovers still as fun as I remember them to be). When they've gotten tests and assignments back where they've done well, they've seen how a little extra work after school can get them the grades they like to see.

We've also reflected on the value of such a program where tutoring is provided free-of-charge by university students. Though it's still been quite a few years since I've been briefed on the fundamentals of science taught in elementary school, as a science student, I'm sure it's still a little less headache-inducing than for one of the kids' parents to remember which Newton's law is which after not having been in school for a long time.

Volunteering at Wilfred Jury has been a wonderful experience for me, as the student coordinator, too. Until now, I've been working exclusively on the planning/administrative side of things and have always gotten a little jealous when the facilitators spoke excitedly of their experiences at our weekly meetings. It's great to get a chance to do a bit of what got me interested in the CSLN in the first place, to serve and learn.

- Vivian M. Leung