Andrea Busetti

Today at 7hills I helped in both the clothing room and the sorting room. Whenever I got there the clothing room was a bit of a mess. There was a lot of clothes off hangers and sticking out. I spent about an hour in here just going through and reorganizing things. While I was in there a lot of people were coming in and out just getting new outfits. After I was done in the clothing room, I moved onto the sorting room. Here I went through donations and separated items into winter and summer clothing. The clothes that were for summer time I hung up and put on racks to be added into the clothing room. The clothes that were more winter style like coats, long sleeve shirts, and heavy pants I put into a trash bag to be put in storage for next Winter. I was sorting clothes for about an hour and was able to make a big dent in donations and get a lot of good items out on the floor. I am so thankful to be able to help this organization.

Today at Soar whenever I arrived the kids were writing cards to someone important to them in their lives. A lot of the kids were writing cards to SOAR teaches and a lot of them were writing them to Mr.Jeff who is the supervisor for SOAR. These people really make an impact on these kids life and they truly do benefit so greatly from it. Once they were done they then went to dinner. I sat with group 4 and we talked about any fun summer plans and if they were ready for school to be over. One girl said that she might be getting a puppy this summer which is super exciting. After dinner the kids went outside to play to burn off some energy. While volunteering at SOAR I have truly seen the impact that this organization has made for these kids. They all talk so highly about SOAR and everyone who works there. Everyone who works and volunteers there is doing it truly for the kids which is so impactful to see.

Today when I arrived at SOAR the kids were in their clubs. I went with career club and the activity they were doing today was going around and interviewing SOAR employees and asking them questions like what do you like about your job? and what is one thing you learned about yourself from working about SOAR?. While we were walking to find two teachers I started talking to two girls in third grade. I asked them if they had any fun plans for the summer, one girl told me how she was going to Camp War Eagle for two weeks through the Jones Center. She told me how excited she was because this was her first time going but some of her other friends had gone and told her how much fun it was. The other girl told me how her and her family were going to Honduras for three weeks over the summer. She told me while there she was going to go to the beach, spend time with family, and do lots of other fun things and how excited she was. They also told me how they were excited to be in fourth grade and how they both felt ready to move up. After SOAR the kids went to dinner where I sat with the fifth grade girls. I have been sitting with these girls for the majority of my time at SOAR and we also find something to talk about. Todays topic was favorite tv shows and what we did over the weekend. After dinner, instead of flex we went outside to play o the playground. One of the group leaders told me how a lot of the younger kids had state testing on this day so SOAR wanted to help give them a nice brain break. Being at SOAR shows me how much all of these people truly care for the kids in the program and how beneficial it is to be able to be apart of this program.

Today at 7hills I was there for a little longer then normal. I was in both the clothing room and the sorting room today. I started in the sorting room by going through donations that 7hills had recently received. They had gotten a lot of summer clothes like t-shirts and shorts which is great since the winter season is now over. The clothing room was very busy today with people getting outfits. Once it somewhat calmed down I went into the clothing room and reorganized it. While in there a guy was talking to me about his past job as a sales representative and how he was the top seller overall at one point. He did not mention how he ended up at 7hills. This opened my eyes to see sometimes people do have a successful life before ending up at 7hills and one drastic change can lead them there. Once it was time for him to leave he told me thank you for listening to him and he was thankful for all the help I was giving the shelter. After I was done organizing the clothing room, I went back to the sorting room and finished going through donations. I was able to make a huge dent and get a lot of new clothes put in the clothing room which was really nice to see my progress and impact I was making today!

Today at SOAR when I arrived the kids were doing reflex. Today was math instead of reading and I saw that they did math on ipads. Some of the kids were getting a little frustrated with the math problems so I sat with one of the little boys and helped him figure some of them out. Once they were done with math it was time for dinner. Dinner today looked a little different then most days because they had to eat a classroom because of a concert going on. While they were eating I helped make sure it didn't get to messy in the classroom and helped clean up once they were done. Today they had an event called party on the playground with their parents where their families could come play games and they also provided a kona ice truck. It started whenever I was leaving but as I was leaving I could see a lot of parents and families walking in excited to enjoy this event. It was fun to see way that SOAR involves families as-well and not just the children.

Today at SOAR whenever I arrived the kids were in their clubs. I went to career club and the kids were drawing pictures of what they want to be whenever they are older. One boy drew that he wanted to be a therapist and help people. This club was good because it helps the kids in SOAR think about their future and so many of them were excited to show me their drawings. After clubs ended the kids went to flex. I was with group five today and they are reading Percy Jackson. I sat with one group and we read aloud together doing popcorn reading. Some of the kids seem to be a little more advanced in their reading then others but they still all took turns and listened quietly whenever someone was reading. After flex was done they kids ate dinner and I sat with the same group during diner. While eating they just talk about school, sports, and their days.

While at 7Hills today, I was in the clothing room. I was helping clean up and reorganize all the clothes. Ms.Kim also had me start taking the winter clothes off of hangers to make more room for summer and spring clothing. I was able to collect two big bags of winter clothes and heavy jackets to help clear up some space. It is nice to see how much the shelter cares about providing the correct seasonal clothing for the people who use it and try. Right before I was getting ready to leave a man came in and I started helping him find t-shirts and jeans to wear. He had explained to me that he had left his clothing at another shelter but had to go to the hospital one day and whenever he came back, all his clothes were thrown out. Because of this he did not have any clothes so it was nice that I could help him find some t-shirts, shoes, and jeans before I left. This shelter truly does so much for the people who utilize it in our community and every time I came and volunteer here I can tell the impact it is having on these peoples lives.

Whenever i arrived at SOAR today, it was a fun day for the kids so they were playing outside. I was put with group five again and a lot of them where on the swings so I was pushing a few of then. While on the swings, they were talking to me about how school and SOAR are about to end because of summer. One of the kids said he was excited to have no more school, but not no more SOAR. We also talked about random things like our top three favorite colors and top three favorite foods. Whenever we went inside it was time for dinner so I sat with the girls in group five. They were having their own conversations about school but every now and then included me in. One of the girls mentioned how that every time I come they also have popcorn chicken for dinner. I think it was sweet that she realized how often I came and that I always came on popcorn chicken day. Once they were done eating, we just sat and talked at the table until they got picked up for the day. Today was a good day at SOAR and I am glad that I have really formed a relationship with this program and that I am able to give back.

Today at 7hills I was in both the sorting and clothing room. I started in the clothing room by reorganizing everything. That took about 30 minutes but there was another volunteer in the room helping me so it made the task go by faster. Once we were done in the clothing room we moved into the sorting room. When we got into the sorting room, there were a lot of clothes and they also had gotten a big donation. It felt like we barely made a dint in the pile of clothing, but I was glad to see that we were slowly filling the shelves with clothes as we went. Today there were not many people coming into the shelter but it was still impactful to see that I was making an impact on the shelter.

Today at SOAR whenever I arrived, the children were playing outside. Todays SOAR looked different because after they cane inside, they were having a house competition day. Once they arrived in the cafeteria they got divided into their houses and were so excited to see which house was going to win. The first competition was head-should-knee-cup. To play this game each kid had to find a partner from a different house. Each pairing had one cup and to win and move on to the next round you had to grab the cup first whenever the word cup was said instead of a body part. Whenever it got down to the final two, their houses were super excited. The next game they played was popping balloons that were tied to another persons foot. Three people from each house were chosen and the last person standing would win house points. This game was a bit more difficult because the kids were having a hard time popping each others balloons. Mr.Jeff and Sophie had the kids not playing move in to make the game more difficult. Once a winner was named his house was so excited. Getting to be a part of a competition day really helped show me first hand how much this community means to the kids. They were so excited for their house and were cheering on their friends. They take pride in what house they are in and take pride in being apart of SOAR. After the competition the kids all ate dinner and I sat with group two. One kid had accidentally spilled his trey before he had sat down and was upset. I was able to help calm him down and tell him it was no big deal and that we were able to him a new tray no problem. After helping him he sat with me and talked about his day and I could tell even though I did not do much, I made a positive impact in his day. This organization does so much for these kids and it is so rewarding to help and give back some of my time.