Community Partners - Reflections

As we fulfill our purpose, our church requires many volunteers. When we are stretched too far, Calvin students fill the lack. Their presence, both in worship and ministry encourages us and add an energy to our body.

Roosevelt Park Community Church

At Family Haven we use Calvin students who are social work majors or need to fulfill cross-cultural engagement requirements. Every homeless family that comes through our door hungers for compassion and love. We give hope here all day long.

I tell the social work majors, "You'll find out here if you're going to be a paper pusher or a people person." I have them do the intake interviews, so they can develop their own working style and learn to feel comfortable with people from different economic and social backgrounds. The student shows the family to their apartment and makes up a food box for them. Whoever a family does intake with- that's who they'll identify with during their 30 days here.

When students need cross-cultural experience, I give them my testimony about being redeemed from addiction. We go to soul food restaurants and walk around the neighborhood meeting people. They're very adaptable in doing what needs to be done- playing with kids, washing windows, sorting our clothes closet and food pantry.

And they teach me a lot bookwise. They got that down pat. The Calvin students are very patient in showing me computer stuff. If I'm putting a letter together, I say, "You took English 101. Go ahead and tweak that letter. Don't be shy."

I remember telling one student, "You are majoring in architecture and engineering. You have something you need to offer people." He befriended a boy at Family Haven. What I didn't know is that he kept up with that boy. Two years later, when I won a community partners award, there they both were, sitting in the audience.

-Deborah Armstrong, senior case manager, ICCF Family Haven
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At Alexander School, 95% of our students are academically at-risk and we have up to 34 kids in some classrooms. Over the years, quite a few Calvin College professors have placed service-learning students here to help with music appreciation, science education, reading and more. Other students volunteer to help out at recess. It's been very powerful.

Our teachers look forward to that one-on-one help that their students get with reading, writing and computers. Dr. Arden Post from Calvin and Gloria Tolbert, who teaches 4th grade, won an award for their literacy project with Calvin mentors and Alexander buddies.

Kids ask me,"Is it Wednesday? Yeah! Today is the day my person comes." They look forward to that one hour of attention from their Calvin mentors. After going on field trips to Calvin's campus, they ask, "How do you get to go here? Do you have to graduate from high school?"

Calvin students benefit by seeing how poverty impacts the human soul. They get hands-on learning experience, so it's a great two-way partnership. Some even keep coming in after their semester ends, because they've built a relationship with their buddy.

-Kathy Sainz, principal, Alexander School
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We've had Calvin students for at least six years. We like them to put in at least three hours per week during the semester, but many keep helping us for longer. We have extensive material on all kinds of abuse. We've definitely found a lot of help from students who are interested.

When police get called to a home for a domestic assault, they check to see if it's somehting the Domestic Assault Response Team can help with. We go out to the house, interview the victim, explain how to get help and do a supplemental report for the police.

We encourage the Calvin students to ask questions in the interview and critique our reports. We value their input. There've been times when the kids are so out of hand that the Calvin students take it upon themselves, because of their caring nature, to play with the kids so we can have the conversation with the mom.

We often get clearance for students to actually write the reports. They also look up criminal case histories on a national database; that information goes to the detective and prosecutors. Students sometimes go with me to the detective unit or sit in on arraignments so we know what happened with the case.

The Calvin students really get a good understanding of human nature. Some keep volunteering with us- even on weekends- after their placement officially ends.

-Sandy Maddox, team member, Domestic Assault Response Team
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At Adelante High School, approximately 60 to 70% of our students speak English as a second language. We have many dialects of Spanish but also students from Somalia, Kenya, India, Russia and Vietnam. The Calvin students work under the supervision of classroom teachers to tutor one-on-one or lead small study groups.

I especially liked it when the Service-Learning Center set up an event at Calvin for several agencies to present. That saved me and the students time, so we didn't play phone tag. I could connect with them according to their interests, so they would have a successful placement.

Our students absolutely appreciate having the peer-to-peer tutoring with Calvin students. Building a relationship gives them more confidence to speak in English. Bilingual learning makes you learn faster, so it's also good to pair a Spanish-speaking student with a Calvin student who takes Spanish. That way they help each other in an even trade.

The Calvin students are extremely dependable in showing up. They don't just fill out a form- they're committed. They come in with a sense of purpose, whether to learn the culture or diversity or put their education to work. They usually come in one day a week, but some have given much more.

We've also had Calvin students volunteer for a one-time opportunity, when our senior class made and sold tamales for a fundraiser.

-Norma Lopez, student services coordinator, Adelante High School
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At Health Intervention Services, we like to get students who can come in on a regular basis. We have no janitorial staff, so we need our own staff or student volunteers to clean, weed and rake leaves. The students also help with clerical work.

Calvin nursing students help our medical assistant with getting patients in the room, getting patient files, observing patients and taking blood pressure.

About 65% of our patients are Hispanic or Spanish-speaking. Five of our eight staff members are bilingual, but our full-time medical assistant is not. Sometimes we use students with good Spanish skills to interpret for patients.

-Sylvia Daining, executive director, Health Intervention Services
 
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