Reflection

When I began this class, and found out that service learning would be a part of the class, I sighed. “I’ve got plenty to do outside of a volunteering project, I work full time, go to school, have a band and a girlfriend, where can I squeeze volunteering?” And the truth is that I learned more about the world while volunteering than I did in any college class, anyone can tell you poverty rates and unemployment rates, and you may even be able to recite them from memory, but experiencing it is something new entirely. No one can teach you what you learn at a place like Our Next Generation. The kids you meet are just kids, they are not some statistic from a textbook. They just want to have a good time, do what kids like to do, and emulate who they look up to, which unfortunately is normally a single parent household who likely never even was accepted into college. The kids need positive and successful role models to look up to and follow.

When a positive role model affects a student, it becomes apparent. Grades will go up, behavior will get more acceptable; reward will be given to this kind of determination from a child. This is who will grow up with these same morals about hard work and reward, and eventually may go to college, and affect even more people with his or her individuality that would otherwise never be heard. Enabling the students is what we aim to do at ONG. Give them all the tools necessary to succeed.

After my few months at ONG, it helps me to understand and appreciate everything that I do have, and not to take anything for granted, even heat in the winter. Something that without a government program like there is today, would probably be a luxury some of these families could not afford.

Research

From outside the building the bass from a drum and a barrage of clicks and clacks is heard. I walk in to meet a rhythmic man, Dr. Jam, as all the kids already know him as. He teaches me to help the kids stay on beat and to demonstrate good teamwork. Several other volunteer leaders are also in the room to help keep things organized. Most of the kids come here every Monday and Wednesday from 3-6pm to collaborate in a musical success and to have a good time where they can be safe while their parents are still at work. Most of these kids come from single parent homes, and need the volunteers to help them stay steered in the right direction. The community center also provides all of the kids with good meals, all made fresh on site in the kitchen, with the help of more volunteers.

The kids are awarded points throughout the semester for good behavior, and receive bonus credits for going above and beyond the call of duty. This helps to establish competition between the students and helps them to strive to be better in the class, and on their best behavior for when guests are around, like volunteers or Dr. Jam. Simply put, this community center helps the future of the surrounding community by investing in the community’s future, the kids. Our Next Generation aims to help get this area away from the label that it has been placed on it.

Our Next Generation has been around for now 16 years as a non-profit organization, and the center has undoubtedly helped many children struggling through poverty. Milwaukee has the second highest poverty rates in the state, over twice the state’s average. Our Next Generation being at the forefront of changing that. The unemployment rate in this area is 27 percent, nearly three times that national average, and the unemployment rate is higher among those who did not graduate high school. Our Next Generation also helps the high school students with a program called “The High School Connection”. ONG is doing everything they can to help these kids. Nearly 50 percent of this community is made up of people under the age of 18.

Our Next Generation cannot do this alone though, without the volunteers, Our Next Generation would not be the great success it is today.

The area is stricken with poverty, broken windows and vandalized buildings line the roads. But amidst these homes, there are some great businesses and some impressive places to see.

The picture in my head that I drew for this area was not a positive one, as when I was in high school, junior year, my car was stolen. The police did eventually find the car, stripped of all of its parts, at 33rd and Vine, very close to Our Next Generation. I tied that situation to this area, and was convinced that this was an awful bad neighborhood. I had no intentions on ever going there, and was surprised when I realized that I had to.

On my first visit there, it was what I had expected, broken down homes and unkempt streets. There was construction on Lisbon, so I took an alternate route through a neighborhood. People were lining the streets and even coming up to my car window trying to get me to get out of the car. I make it to Our Next Generation, and the doors are locked, you have to be known by someone in the building to be let in.

When I got inside though, it was a completely different atmosphere. Kids were running around happy, playing and talking with their friends. There were kids in a study room doing their homework, and there were more kids outside on the jungle gym. I was part of the homework club there, I helped a few boys work on some activities and even wrote some stories with them. The kids I was working with were quite intelligent and had very creative minds.

A very different socioeconomic background than what I am used to. Nearly two thirds of households are of single parents. Nearly half of these missing parents are in jail. The kids lack positive role models to look up to. Our Next Generation aims to give these kids the positive influence they need to succeed and be happy.

Our Next Generation is working to revive the community, and local businesses thrive. There are a few old homes in the area also well worth noting, old Victorian mansions once broken down and now have been rebuilt to beautiful abodes.

The person I chose to interview was a leader on the executive board for Our Next Generation for over ten years. She helped the organization begin in 1994. She told of the many businesses in the area who greatly benefited from the positive influence of ONG. Many churches in the area are also largely involved. ONG has made a lot of progress in revitalizing the community.

Doing this project I have come to realize that there are ways that I personally can help and mold another person’s life, and through doing so, can change many other’s lives in the process. We just need to spend the time to do so.