A Day at Vogel Alcove by BriAnna Young

The Agency: Vogel Alcove

brianna_l_young — 2015-07-04 02:34:17 UTC

For over 25 years, Vogel Alcove has provided free, child care and development services for homeless children six weeks to five years old. Vogel Alcove is the only program of it's kind because their primary focus is to provide free childcare and case management for children and their families who are affected by homelessness. They work with over 21 local emergency shelters, domestic violence shelters, housing programs and organizations that serve homeless families.

Creating Clothing Packs

brianna_l_young — 2015-07-04 02:34:56 UTC

For my project I worked in the resource center. My first 2 days I created clothing packs for the children at Vogel Alcove. These clothing packs included: pants, shirt, socks, and underwear. The packs were created in various sizes to help accommodate the large amount of families that come through the program. Because Vogel Alcove is a big organization these packs were created for the winter and fall seasons. On my 3rd day I began sorting the bins in the resource center to help organize some of the clothing by gender,size, and season.

Importance of Community Servive

brianna_l_young — 2015-07-04 02:43:39 UTC

I think that English 1301 had us complete community service because it is a important life skill to be able to interact with people. I think another reason is because its important to show empathy towards other people. Being a kind and caring person is something that is valued and being able to relate with other people and help them when they need it is a special thing. And like reading and writing showing compassion and empathy towards another person is a basic life skill.

Impact on Me

brianna_l_young — 2015-07-04 02:44:40 UTC

When working with this organization I alway enjoy my time their. I find that seeing how these young children are effect with homelessness and still able to be sweet, caring, and fun individuals is amazing. The experience is life changing because you never know how good you have it until you get to see the struggle some people go through. I believe that working with Vogel Alcove I have become a more empathetic and less judgmental person. I feel for the families that are affected with homelessness and realize that judgeing people off of appearances is wrong

Community Impacted

brianna_l_young — 2015-07-04 02:44:41 UTC

By me preparing fall and winter clothing packs the organization is ready to pass out these clothing when the seasons change into colder weather. I prepared over 100 individual packs for both girls and boys. The sizes ranged from 12 months to 6T. Vogel Alcove currently serves 115 kids between the ages of 6 weeks and 5 years old, but these packs will also be available to siblings of kids at Vogel Alcove.

Challenges and Rewards

brianna_l_young — 2015-07-04 02:45:31 UTC

I found that the most challenging part of my project was assembling outfits. I wanted to make sure that every kid had a cute and matching outfit. The main reward that came from my project was knowing that the children would have cute and clean clothes for the colder seasons this year

Why I Chose Vogel Alcove

brianna_l_young — 2015-07-04 02:47:37 UTC

I was first introduced to Vogel Alcove about 2 years ago. I was instantly drawn to their mission and vision. I believe that working with children and the youth is the best way to give back because you never know how big of a influence you can make in their life.