Monthly Archives: May 2017

Shameless Curiosity

Dearest reader!

I assume that, since you have found this humble blog of mine, you may be interested, or already have, in enrolling in the UBC Trek program? If that is not the case,  as you continue to read what I am about to tell you, I hope that you might change your mind.

What does it mean to volunteer? Does the act of deliberately giving up your precious and limited time for no recompensation ultimately make you a greater and happier individual? This is largely the impression put forward in the public discourse. The volunteer is given a saint-status and delicately portrayed as the Angel on earth there to save those in need. You think I am exaggerating? Well, maybe I am, but let me ask you something. Think about the last time you met someone and they told you about a volunteer placement of theirs. What was your initial reaction? That they is a good person.  Exactly. That being said, being a volunteer does require some characteristics I believe to be of utter importance and value, not in terms of having these characteristic, but learning them.

It is predominately the “idea” of volunteering that is so highly acclaimed and not necessarily the volunteering in itself. If you allow yourself to think about it, why is it that we have a system of volunteers in the first place? Is it really merely as a way to help vulnerable communities?  The motive behind this blog is to debunk this myth of volunteering as honorable quest to save to ones in need and to hopefully contribute to a changed public discourse around this topic.The TREK program offered at UBC does a good job doing that. Instead of understanding volunteer work as a static act of benevolence and helping of those in need, the TREK program views volunteering as part of a multi-disciplinary approach to academic knowledge and a tool to comprehend the contemporary world. I strongly believe that by altering the view of exposing yourself to a social context different from your own, one has the potential to influence individuals’ thoughts and actions using knowledge to promote awareness. Through the following blog posts, I will address two lessons I learned by attending the Trek Program as I first year International UBC Student. As cliché as it may be, I believe that only through someone’s stories one can acquire a more realistic glimpse of an understanding of a particular experience.

What is TREK and How did I get involved?

As an international first-year student originally from Sweden I am pursuing a Coordinated Arts Program in the Global Citizen stream at UBC. This is a first-year academic program that offers and combines several Arts courses in areas such as Politics, Sociology, and Geography with the aim to explore our role as individuals in an increasingly globalized world. It was through my sociology course SOCI 100, that my Professor Kerry Greer, first introduced me to the TREK program as a practical alternative option to the usual weekly discussion groups with theoretical and research-based assignments.

The TREK program is a one-year program offered through UBC’s Center for Community-based Learning that places students in community settings (non-profits organizations and inner city schools). In order to participate in TREK specifically, you must complete and submit an official online application in the beginning of the school year. Once enrolled in the program you must complete three assignments throughout the year and attend three Community Dinners with the other TREK participants.

Having previously done quite a bit of volunteering as a high-school student, I felt on a personal level the need to challenge my experience of Vancouver and to understand what it really meant to live in this Canadian city. Although being there for those in need is an important factor, that was never the core of my ambition to participate in the program. I wanted to learn and get to know this new community that I had arrived to. At first, I was ambivalent towards participating. I was scared that it would require more of me than I would willing to provide, that it would drain me of energy and be too overwhelming. What finally made me change my mind and apply was purely my curiousness. I was curious to experience my surroundings, and I think that you should be as well!

Lesson 1: The Bus Ride

Imagine it is your very first day at your new Trek placement: The Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House (DTES NH). You are on the bus and as it crosses the bridge over Grandville and enters Downtown, you become aware of this sucking sensation present in your upper stomach. In your head, you casually try to blame it on the spicy Indian you had for lunch, although both your head and your stomach know: You are dead nervous.

I can clearly recall this moment when I think back to my experience working for the DTES NH, how uncomfortable and unsure I felt about my new responsibility. Oh, how different my feelings were sitting on that same bus going to my last day in comparison.

One aspect of the volunteering experience that is often neglected is the experience you have outside of the actual volunteering itself. It is almost like having children. Everyone will tell you about all the emotions that you may experience when you are spending time with your child, how you should take care of it, what you should do etc.  What they do not tell you, however, is how having child will make you feel when you are not with it. They won’t tell you about the guilt and feeling of not being good enough, about the stress of just not being able to be there when you are needed. I believe that the volunteer experience is to some extent a similar experience. Just like when you become a parent, being a volunteer requires you to take on a new role and responsibility in addition to your previous ones. This additional responsibility, however, has a tendency to sometimes clash with other aspects of your life and balancing the two different worlds are not always easy. The “idea” of being a volunteer comes alongside many external expectations about how you are supposed to act and feel in order to be a “good” volunteer. The truth is, being a “good” volunteer as relative to the organization you are volunteering for and it takes some time to become comfortable in your new role.

My one-hour bus ride back and forth to my volunteer placement was where this realization first came to me. It was while sitting on the bus 14 going to my volunteer placement that I experienced the anxieties about leaving a pile of homework at UBC and feeling guilty about feeling like I did not have time for volunteering. It was also on bus 14 coming back from my volunteer placement that I experienced gratefulness for the people that I slowly began to build relationships with. On that bus ride, I could identify how my role as a volunteer at the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House gradually grew on me, how I slowly felt like I knew how to be a “good” volunteer. All I needed was just a little time in order to fully enjoy the ride.

Lesson 2: The Baby

Another lesson that I learned working with the DTES NH was how to connect with the people I was working with. As a volunteer there I participated in a Family Drop-in program, which consisted of drop-in sessions that include four main activities that the families in the DTES can participate in; an arts and craft table, collectively preparing snacks and dinner, an interactive play and build area and eating the prepared meal together. Many of the families consistently participate every week and are undeniably the most essential aspect of my work there.

In the beginning, I had a hard time connecting with the families. I simply could not seem to identify how to approach them in my position as a volunteer. It was strange, I felt like I was an outsider in their social setting. Like they all were speaking a language fluently that I had just begun to learn. The parents and the children all were used to the structure and routine of the program, and they all knew each other from before. I, on the other hand, mostly had no real idea what would happen next.I had not expected to feel that way. I was the volunteer, right? Was it not me who was supposed to be in charge of the program? I made mistakes all the time, like giving non-halal meat to the Muslim family or constantly asking the wrong questions to the wrong person. During this initial time period,  sitting down to have dinner together slightly terrified me. Nevertheless, I had made a conscious decision to eat with the families and do my very best to engage with them, hoping that my feeling of separation would eventually disappear.

It took a long time before if finally paid off. All because of a baby. One of the families had just welcomed a new member into the world. It was a tiny little thing that, unlike many babies, quietly observed the people surrounding. You could see how proud its older siblings were, and especially the oldest who almost never let the baby out of her sight.I had during several weeks been eating dinner with that particular family, and I had been struggling to get the approval from the oldest sister. Everything I would attempt to begin a conversation, she would simply look at me, as she was trying to call my bluff and simply ignored my questions. I had tried everything, but she simply seemed uninterested in becoming my friend. Then one day, she asked if I wanted to hold her sister.

I remember my heart stopping and my hands begin to sweat as I said that I would love to hold the baby. As she placed the baby in my arms, carefully giving me detailed descriptions ensuring that I would hold it properly, the way I viewed my role as volunteer drastically changed. Being the oldest of four, the little soft baby reminded me of holding my younger brother and sister when they were babies. Suddenly, I did not feel distant to the family and as I look up at her sister she smiled at me saying “She is cute, isn’t she”? I smiled back. In that moment I realized that being a volunteer is just as building any type of friendship, it takes time and you simply cannot force it. It will happen when you can meet at the same level. You have to let them decide the pace and direction that the friendship takes, because to a large extent they are the ones in charge of the situation- not you. When I had tried to “control” the situation and be a “good” volunteer by asking questions, I had failed to recognize this essential point. Thus, instead of constantly thinking of yourself as the “volunteer” try to see yourself as just another person sharing the experience and listen to the people surrounding you.

Hello everyone!

My name is Maria and I am (or should I say was) a student in the Global Citizens CAP stream. Soci 100, a course I presume you readers are taking, provides a great opportunity for you to get involved in communities that may not be as privileged as others. (Plus, it does help not to write a 16 page research essay.)

I was placed in the Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House, a community centre-like establishment in the Renfrew-Hastings area. My role as a volunteer was to help with the Saturday Youth Connections program, where newcomers who are new to Canada will have a safe place to learn about Canadian culture, their community and practice their English. It was a program focused on permanent residences, but had an overwhelmingly attendance of international students.

My very first assignment as a volunteer at this placement was to plan and facilitate a Christmas gingerbread making project for the students attending. The students would learn how to measure ingredients and follow the recipe while getting volunteer hours for doing so. Through this activity, I grew close with many of the students while at the same time, was observing sociological concepts, such as impression management. There was a girl who was very hostile and rebellious towards the volunteers while the instructions were being given out. However, when the volunteers attempted to break down the language barrier by listening more attentively and encouraging the girl to speak more English, the girl was able to enjoy herself and socialize with her peers better.

The next activity left the biggest impression on me. The volunteer coordinator gathered the Trek students to discuss possible events and activities for the new year. Arguably the most important fact I learned that day was that the Saturday program could only receive funding if the neighbourhood house turned in 50 new Permanent Residence codes to the government per year. This meant that in order to keep the program running, the neighbourhood house had to attract as many new Permanent Residences as they possibly could, whether it be through means of prizes, or free food. It was a struggle to keep the program alive.

From this, I continued throughout the day, questioning myself, unsure of my motive to volunteer. I had originally intended to make a positive impact on the youth’s lives, but to learn that all I could do was sit at a table waiting for three people to show up for a giftcard draw was, to say the least, disheartening. To be perfectly honest, it felt like bribery to me. To advertise to permanent residences to bring their friends for a chance to win a $50 Metrotown giftcard didn’t line up with the program statement I had originally seen on the Frog Hollow website. Instead of “skill development, support services for post-secondary & career planning, homework support, and volunteer opportunities”, all that remained were false promises and a strayed mission.

Looking back at what I’ve just written, this all seems so negative and makes Trek seem like it isn’t a good choice to opt for. Before you stop reading, however, I’d like to say, as surprising as it may be, this experience helped me to grow in maturity and in understanding unfortunate circumstances that sometimes inevitably arise. The Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House and its staff try their best to provide a safe place for the youth. Even though they have strayed from their mission in a struggle to keep the program afloat, I believe and I hope that they can overcome this struggle. As upcoming sociologists, I believe we can learn much from critically observing real life situations, where not all is shiny and bright.

Whether your experience is similar to mine, or whether it is on a more light hearted note, I believe that Trek is a great opportunity to network, grow, and experience things you may never have before. Take advantage of this while you can, and I wish you all the best of luck!

Hello, my name is Nigel and over the past year, being in Dr. Greer’s SOCI 100 class has given me the opportunity to volunteer at the Strathcona Community Centre through the UBC Trek programme. This program has truly broadened my horizons and helped me make the most out of my first year in university. Going into the programme, I expected to find just another volunteering position. However, I have found that Trek is quite different from other volunteer placement programmes as the Trek committee actually hosts many workshops, seminars, and events throughout the year that helped me to connect my experiences in my placement with what I am learning in school.

The cap stream I am part of is entitled “Global Citizens”. As such, I find it key to focus on the term, and what better way to discover the basics of citizenship than to volunteer locally?

Strathcona Community Centre is a small rec centre located in the poorer neighbourhood of Strathcona in Chinatown. There, I was initially placed in the gardening program, where we would take care of the small community vegetable and flower garden outside. The garden here is to be shared with the children at the adjoining Lord Strathcona Elementary, and programmes often run for children to help out around the garden. In addition, towards the end of the year, I also started to help out with the Afterschool Adventures programme, which provides day care service for kindergarteners from Lord Strathcona.

At Strathcona, I was able to take note of real world examples of many of the concepts we learned in Greer’s sociology class. One example that stood out was how I noticed instances of concerted cultivation in Afterschool Adventures. Several times I noticed how staff members or other volunteers attempted to reason with the children when the kids wanted something, rather than simply giving them direct orders as natural growth theory would call for. At Afterschool Adventures, I was able to tie in many parts of the novel Time Bind that we read during the family studies unit, along with much of what we learned in class regarding it. In addition, discussing with the staff regarding the community centre has shown me real world effects of government policies and decisions, such as how budgets are allocated for different aspects of the community centre and delegated to certain programmes over others.

I find that my experience at Strathcona has allowed me to connect not only with sociology, but with all of the other courses in my cap stream. In my placement, I have witnessed events that can be tied just as easily to both political science or geography as they can to sociology.

Overall, I believe that my experiences at Strathcona Community Centre and in the Trek programme have both been essential to helping me understand this year’s course materials in the Global Citizens cap stream. I would like to thank Dr. Greer for presenting me with such a wonderful and enriching opportunity to both learn more outside of the classroom and give back to the local community at the same time. For those considering joining but unsure of time commitments, I recommend finding a placement on the weekends or in a time slot on a day when you are less busy. Once you start doing it, you’ll find that the transit to and from is much more of a hassle than actually volunteering. I highly, highly recommend this program as real world experience is an indispensable aspect of learning, along with the fact that it also looks great on a resume. Best of luck to all those thinking of doing it!

~Nigel

For the past six months, as part of my Sociology 100 class, I participated in UBC’s Community for Engaged Learning Trek program where I was a volunteer with the Kids First Program that is run out of Hastings Elementary. Founded 16 years ago, the Kids First Program offers children from Hastings and its annex Tillicum, many of whom are potentially at risk youth, a safe and inclusive after-school program from 3 to 6 P.M. Partnering with this community organisation has been a great experience and especially dear to me as I grew up in the neighbourhood (I even went to Hastings Elementary myself!) but beyond my own personal connection, the program has offered me an ideal environment to take my learning beyond the University setting. For almost half a year, I have volunteered regularly with the program, attending for two hours once or twice a week to tutor and play with children. While going in to the program I had a deep connection to the area and some of its challenges, approaching this experience with a critical, analytical lens all while creating relationships with students in the area, has allowed me to deeper understand some of the underlying social issues in the community and society in general.

Getting involved in the community through some sort of volunteering is something I would recommend to anyone and everyone, but why specifically Trek? For me what stood out about Trek was its connection to my education and the subject matter I was so often learning in my classes. In courses like geography and sociology, we constantly explored and critiqued the systems and institutions our society functions within and tackled various issues relating to – among many other issues – poverty, education, socio-economic inequality and housing. Through lectures, readings, and projects, my classmates and I were beginning to form a sophisticated understanding of these issues and for me Trek became a critical supplement to what I was learning. My knowledge I had gained in my academics gave me a new lens through which to see many issues, but Trek allowed me to use this lens and grow my understanding of the challenges many communities face first hand. At Kids First I was beginning to witness these issues while also being exposed to solutions – in many ways my placement gave much more meaning to what I was learning. It was a constant reminder of the significance of what I was learning but also an opportunity to add what I was seeing and experiencing in my placement to what I was already learning, giving me a much clearer understanding overall.

Specifically, to my experience, I was able to further understand the underlying social issues many families face in the neighbourhood of Hastings Sunrise in East-Vancouver and reflect on some possible ways to fix these issues. A vibrant and ethnically diverse community, gentrification and poverty are two of the most pressing issues the community is facing. One in five children in the area experience food insecurity and live in inadequate housing, and at Kids First, these at-risk elementary students are the target of the program. In my time volunteering I helped out as a tutor, helping students with their homework, but also providing social and emotional support by building meaningful connections. In the time I spent at kids first, I built many relationships with many kids and saw how impactful programs like Kids First are. It was truly a great experience and something I will do again and would absolutely recommend to anyone!