I attended the Cotton Ave site for this shift. I helped fold and label men and women clothes and stored some sizes in the cabinets. I also helped straighten the kitchen area.
I attended Mayor Woodfin's campaign kickoff, my first ever, not knowing what to expect. State Senator Merika Coleman endorsed Woodfin for his third term, highlighting his Birmingham Promise program, which has helped over 1,600 students. County Commissioner Sheila Tyson urged the community to be proactive in the upcoming election, challenging everyone to bring 50 people to the polls. Mayor Woodfin spoke about Birmingham's progress and the need for strong leadership, investing $16 million in police recruitment and $8 million in youth programs like mental health, conflict resolution, and financial literacy. He proudly shared that third-grade reading levels rose from 53% to 81% in two years and that crimes like robbery, assault, burglary, and auto theft have decreased during his tenure.
During this experience, I volunteered at the Community Affairs Committee Multicultural Celebration. There I helped Mrs. Westery hand out programs and information cards about Youth Towers and distributed an after-event survey. I really enjoyed being at the event itself and seeing all the performances.
During this experience, I volunteered at the Cotton Site and Pearson site. I would say this day focused on micro-level social work. I, along with Mrs. Westery, and the social worker conducted housing inspections on one of the participants. I also sat through and observed 2 check-in interviews with 2 of the participants and got to meet them myself. I also help the social worker sort through and organize a couple of files on hand.
I went to the orientation of my volunteer opportunity at Youth Towers. It was great to learn about what the organization does and to meet some of the team behind the organization. I'm excited to do more with this group throughout the semester.
I completed the DHR Adults Abuse Mandated Reporters Training. I learned a lot about the different forms of abuse that adults and older adults may experience and it has shown me what abuse may or may not be presented as.
