I participated in a number of things, ranging from music to church events, aid to the homeless, etc. I used to help my mom deliver meals to senior citizens who had a hard time getting out, shopping, cooking ,etc. and/or were lonely and just looked forward to a familiar face.
One of my
favorite things I did was in high school (and was through my school.) It was called
H.U.D.D.L.E. (Helping Us Develop Dedicaton, Leadership, and Enthusiasm). Basically, it involved high school students teaching and mentoring 4th and 5th grade students in the school district.
The high school students were paired off into sets of 2. (This was based on how well you worked together, played off each other, etc.) We spent a couple of weeks working on team-building (as an entire group and with our partner). We were assigned a classroom (mine happened to be 4th graders) and we went to this same class once a month throughout the school year. (It was the 3rd Thursday or something). We educated the students on dealing with peer pressure, drug abuse, alcohol abuse (including help dealing with alcoholing parents), etc. (We were given lesson plans, activities, etc. every week, but were also encouraged to add our own twists and personalities to the lessons).
Being selected to be a member of HUDDLE meant we agreed not to drink, smoke, etc. throughout the year (kind of like w/ your letters: what do people think when they see you out partying and XYZ is across your chest?), couldn't get into a whole lot of trouble, etc.
The coolest part was that, since we saw the same students on a regular basis, we got to know them pretty well. The kids
loved when we came. My partner was also a good friend of mine, and we always had all kinds of great little activities and stuff for these kids. (Like teaching them the useful techniques of designing paper airplanes
) Our last day of the year with them, the kids threw us a party and we went outside and played with them and had a blast.
The following year I was home from college and working as a cashier at a local store. I hear a kid say "hey, that's my HUDDLE teacher", and turned to see one of the boys that had been in my HUDDLE class nearly 2 years before. It was so great to see that those kids remembered me, because hopefully they remembered some of the things we talked to them about, too.
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SilverTurtle@greekchat.com
Phi Beta Fraternity
Phi chapter