Related Experience
Please see below for more information on experiences I have had with children and families under stress. In addition to informing my understanding of how children and families cope with stress, these experiences have taught me invaluable lessons about support, connection, and resilience.
Buddy Volunteer
Kate's Club
Kate's Club is an organization in Atlanta, Georgia that provides activities and events for children who've experienced the death of a close family member. As a buddy volunteer, I have worked with children ages 5 through 18 and their families in both virtual and in-person settings to facilitate various therapeutic activities to promote coping and connection.
Volunteering with Kate's Club has been a tremendous honor. It has given me the opportunity to witness what grief, bereavement, and support look like across developmental stages and within families.
Related Competencies: I.B, I.D, I.E
Volunteer
Project Sunshine
Project Sunshine is an organization that provides volunteer-led programming to meet the needs of hospitalized children. Their tele-play program provided volunteers with the opportunity to continue to connect and engage in play with hospitalized children in a virtual setting. As a volunteer, I have participated in tele-play sessions with pediatric patients across the state of Georgia. This has given me the opportunity to experience firsthand the creative adaptations hospitals and child life staff are making to continue to meet patients' needs in a pandemic.
Related Competencies: I.C, I.E
Cabin Counselor
Camp Twin Lakes: Connect
Camp Twin Lakes provides camp experiences to children with chronic illnesses, disabilities, and other life challenges to promote confidence and connection. Camp Twin Lakes: Connect was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure children still had the opportunity to experience the benefits of camp in a new, virtual setting. As a cabin counselor, I facilitated discussions, activities, and interactive live programming with children and adolescents with medical conditions such as Marfan syndrome and sickle cell disease. I also worked with children and adolescents who had experienced the death or deployment of a family member. In addition to witnessing and fostering resilience in the campers, this unique camp experience gave me great insight to the benefits of virtual programming.
Related Competencies: I.B, I.D, I.E
Den Counselor
Center for Courageous Kids
The Center for Courageous Kids is a medical camp that provides children with serious illnesses and their families with the opportunity for respite and recreation. As a den counselor during a family retreat, I mentored children with epilepsy and their families through a weekend of camp activities designed to entertain and empower both children and families. This experience highlighted to me the importance of creating connections based upon shared experience and considering the needs and demands of the entire family unit, as well as the individuals who comprise it.
Related Competencies: I.B, I.D, I.E
Volunteer
Alive Hospice Residence
Alive Hospice residence is a facility that provides an alternative to in-home hospice care. Here, I had the privilege of working with other volunteers, nurses, and chaplains to provide comfort, conversation and companionship to residents and their visitors. Through this experience, I learned much about legacy building, spiritual and social needs at end of life, family support, grief, and bereavement. In supporting individuals of various ages and backgrounds in their grieving process, I gained an intense appreciation of the complexity of grief and the importance of providing sensitive support tailored to the unique needs of each individual.
Related Competencies: I.B, I.D, I.E