orientation | Centre for Community Partnerships

Written by: Vivian Li

I really loved my experience with Alternative Reading Week (ARW) last year, so I decided to get more involved with ARW by becoming a project leader. In preparation for the three-day volunteer event in November, I attended an orientation session on Saturday. We talked about equity, privilege, and allyship, as well as how we can help students in our team feel like they belong. The training was very hands-on and it was interesting to see ARW from behind-the-scenes CE, as well, it also gave me a lot of ideas about how I can approach future event planning initiatives!

One of the most interesting moments of the training was when we got into groups and drew the traits of an ideal project leader. For my team, we thought that listening (represented by large ears) encouragement (we gave our imaginary project leader a thumbs up on her shirt), positivity (a large smile), and juggling multiple things was important for a project leader (we considered drawing multiple arms but decided against it). Some other groups talked about having being caring (a large heart), observant (dark, peering eyes), and prepared (with a fanny pack).

We also looked over different projects, wrote down our top three choices, and made a skit based on what we’ll be doing in the future! For example, one of the teams demonstrated the worst situation possible, which left the project leader all alone, while the other team represented the worst and best situations when contacting community partners. Some take-aways for me is that it’s really important to ensure that everyone participating knows what they’ll be doing beforehand, that the students are comfortable with each other, and that (more practically), emailing community partners during the evening will make sure your message comes up first for them the next morning.

Project Leader presentation on next steps

However, for me, one of the most important moments was when it was time to reflect. We were given small notebooks to write a letter from ourselves in the present to us in the future about what we want to learn by next February, but my letter somehow became one from a far-away future directed towards who I wish to be in February. I’ve always been a sensitive person and I’ve been having trouble handling my emotions, schoolwork, and family relationships recently. I’m also struggling to learn how to care for and love myself unconditionally (even on my worst days). So it was very important for me to talk about the future having a future, and including everything that I love to do in it when I’m in a stable state. I signed it, “Warmest wishes and with LOTS of love, Vivian :).” I hope that by taking little steps like these, I’ll be able to shift something within me.

Written by: Vivian Li

On September 13, 2019, I attended the Community Action Projects (CAPs) Orientation for Story Planet, an organization that combines literacy, art, and drama to engage children as well as youth in under-resourced schools. CAPs are opportunities for students to volunteer at and learn from non-profit organizations as well as to explore new communities, potential career paths, and to develop communication treatment skills. Although I came in wanting to meet new people and to understand Story Planet’s goals, I ended up leaving with an interesting model, a cool new icebreaker idea, and more insight on reflection!

We started off the orientation with a quick game of “Human Bingo,” a way to get to know each other through statements (ex. “I love Samoyeds”), which were laid out as squares on a 4×5 grid. Afterwards, we discussed what community engaged learning was, talked about the difference between equity and equality, and chatted with a representative from Story Planet.

By the way, if you’re interested in checking out more CAPs opportunities, including the SciHigh program at Mount Sinai Hospital and the City Adult Learning Centre with the Toronto District School Board, you can register on the CCP website (the next session is October 25, 5 – 7 p.m)!

I learned a lot in the two hours, but here are my top three takeaways from the experience:

The importance of asset-based community development when interacting with organizations. For instance, challenging us (the outsiders) to view a community in terms of its strengths rather than its weaknesses.

Community Engaged Learning: Preparation, Engagement, and Reflection

The Derpy Dog exercise! The goal of the activity was to promote a growth mindset, to push past any innate resistance, and essentially draw a derpy dog in 30 seconds. After we finished, we passed our papers to a student to our left and drew another dog. Then, we passed the papers again and drew a human owner. It was a little stressful as the facilitator started counting down and had a timer! I definitely had trouble drawing the body of my dogs but it was fun to make a narrative for the pets and the owner. I named them Boopy, Choopy, and Jimmy respectively. Unfortunately, I don’t have photos as they’re quite shy!

Powerpoint presentation of Reciprocal Model

From the reflection portion, this quote from John Dewey really struck me: “We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience.” It prompted me to reflect on the reason I was taking my courses, as well as to think about why I wish to become a writer and musician. Other questions started to come up: how can what I’m doing right now help get me where I want to go? And what skills do I want to learn from this experience and from my extracurriculars?

My goals this year as a potential volunteer at Story Planet are to become more verbally communicative, practice my artistic abilities, and learn to be more patient. As well, I wish to try facilitating (small!) workshops and engage with drama and playwriting. In essence, I’m really looking forward to my next steps with Story Planet and to future collaborations with the community!

Centre for Community Partnerships

Tag Archives: orientation

Reflecting on the Future: Alternative Reading Week Project Leader Training