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Phillip Van Otten

Anna West

HLTH 1110

5 December 2018

Service Learning Reflection

You never know what change you can make until you give it a try and that’s exactly what

happened when I volunteered this semester. The amount of help that is needed to keep these non-

for-profit organizations going strong is abundant. I could see that what these people were doing

for the good of children’s education and health was amazing. I would like to go over some of

what I participated in and how it helps out local children in need, whether that be education or

food.

For my Service Learning I decided to attend Alternative Fall Break which was organized

by the Thayne Center at SLCC. This program was for 3 days and we ended up helping out at 3

different locations. On the first day we went and helped at Promise South Salt Lake, when we

were there we went up the street and cleaned up a park that was dirty and in need of fixing up.

For day number 2 we went to the Children’s Center. There we cleaned all the toys that the kids

use so that they could avoid getting sick and have a clean and healthy environment to learn and

play. On the last day we spent time at the Utah Community Action. Here we made activity books

that help kids to match shapes and letter. These activity books could be checked out and taken

home so they could learn at home with their families.

There are many different determinants of health that were addressed while I was

volunteering. While I was helping clean up the park, I could see that we were acting in part with

the Neighborhood and Community parts of health. Also, we were involved with Health because

staying active helps keep people healthy and less sick. When we were at the children’s center, we
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were addressing Health, Community, and Education determinants. We would clean the toys

which would keep kids from getting sick and be able to stay and learn. For the community action

we were addressing Education, Health, Economic stability and Community. The community

action is great at educating kids in after school programs and also providing children with

breakfast and lunch so that they at least get 2 meals to eat a day.

All of these programs helped out kids that would normally not get the help they need

without these programs. These are government funded programs that would not exist unless

people voted them into action. That’s why it is so important to try and find ways to help fund and

organize programs that help our youth grow and learn. In order for people to access to these

resources out outside of these programs we would have to incorporate these practices into public

schools. The community action already works with schools but Promise and the children’s center

are both separate from school but can be accessed by the community. I think that they should

send home flyers with parents when kids get into the new school year, so they know what

resources are available to their kids.

The importance for these kids to have a environment to learn and get the help they need

is crucial to their development. They are more likely to be successful if they are helped at an

early age (Chall. S). Also, when it comes to kids with trauma or autism, there are not a lot of

resources to help them. But it is just as important for them to have the same opportunities, even

though they might have to be handled differently (Moor. J). This can also include having

resources for children that have disabilities. It is nice to see that there are many policies in place

to help these children, so they can thrive in a good learning environment (Dickens. M). What I

find to be the most important is that they children are getting the nourishment they need to

survive and thrive. Children that are undernourished have a harder time in school and learning

(Citro, C). The main point is that children should be able to have all of these available despite
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their economic status because they need to opportunity to learn and grow to be successful in the

future. Education should always be accessible no matter how much money your parents make.

Now that this class is coming to a close its nice to see that I spent a little more time

thinking about others in the community besides myself. Doing service in the community can

seem daunting but in the end, it makes you feel accomplished in bettering the world around you.

At times while volunteering I felt that I could see myself doing this again in the future. I didn’t

have any exposure to doing service like this and didn’t know it was so easy to sign up for. I now

know that I can make a difference, but if we all helped out just a little more it would change the

whole world. As cheesy as that sounds it was a good experience and I am glad that I participated

in it.
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Works Cited

Dickins, Mary, et al. All Together : How to Create Inclusive Services for Disabled Children and

Their Families. Vol. 2nd ed, National Children’s Bureau, 2003. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e025xna&AN=399157&site=ehost-

live.

Citro, Constance F., et al. Research Opportunities Concerning the Causes and Consequences of

Child Food Insecurity and Hunger: : A Workshop Summary. National Academies Press,

2013. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e025xna&AN=867744&site=ehost-

live.

Moor, Julia. Playing, Laughing and Learning with Children on the Autism Spectrum : A

Practical Resource of Play Ideas for Parents and Carers Second Edition. Vol. 2nd ed,

Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2008. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e025xna&AN=236351&site=ehost-

live.

Chall, Jeanne S., et al. The Reading Crisis. Harvard University Press, 1990. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e025xna&AN=282729&site=ehost-

live.