Due to my attendance at the infamous “Shorewalk” party, this week I spent a significant amount of time at the Boy’s and Girl’s club. It has been a great pleasure working and playing with all of the young children and observing their habits and lifestyle so different from my own. Yesterday we painted broken mini sculptures and it took each kid twenty minutes to decide which paintbrush to use, and another twenty to settle their arguments over who was sitting where. Even though they are pretty rough on each other, they are always sweet and respectful to me, some just need a little extra attention. For example, there’s a couple girls that follow me everywhere and put up a fight when I say no to letting them use my blackberry or tie my hair in knots. My favorite part is helping them with their homework and trying to teach them simple math concepts I have no idea how I learned in the first place. Yesterday when I explained to Tyshawna that one dime is the same amount as ten pennies, she was puzzled as to why? Well you know what, I really dont’ know why that’s just the way it is!
Saturday, March 7th, 2009 marked the first outing for the members of the National Honor Society at the Pendleton School. This year is the first group of inductees into the Pendleton chapter of the National Honor Society. The first service project done by the group was volunteering at the Special Olympics this past Saturday. The Special Olympics were held at Bayshore High School right across the street from IMG. Therefore, the students simply had to walk there as a group after meeting in the classroom of Mr. Busch, faculty director for the National Honor Society at Pendleton. The Pendleton volunteers had to participate in the opening ceremony as one of the groups involved. Some of the Jobs given to the students were things such as referees, ball collectors, timers, etc. It was a very enjoyable event for the athletes who all tried very hard despite their disabilities. At the end of all the events, Lunch was served to the athletes, volunteers and other people in attendance followed by the prize giving and closing ceremony.
Last Saturday, Dirk Ramdial, Stephanie Ritchey, Jordan Rizzo, and myself, followed Mr. Charlie Kennedy deep into the heart of Palmetto to volunteer for the well-known, nonprofit organization, Habitat for Humanity. The organization has built their reputation on providing affordable housing to low income families, who otherwise, probably would not be able to afford to buy a home. The reason that these houses are able to be sold for so much less than a normally manufactured house, is that they are built by volunteers. There are no contractors or workers to be paid. The other reason is that the majority of the supplies needed to build the houses are donated from both individuals, and local companies. The people from the community come together with the home owners themselves to help put these houses together. In order to be eligible for one of the Habitat Houses, the potential owner not only has to be able to pay the mortgage, but also has to put in the houses. They must spend any where from 300 to 500 hours helping to build other houses to be eligible for the program.
Saturday February 28
This weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in The Big Brothers Big Sisters event. It was at a golf course in Sarasota. Only four IMG students went, but it was an excellent experience. The littles, as they are called, or the kids in this organization are kids who are in great need of a positive influence from the bigs (adults). Being at this event made me think about how lucky I am to have parents that care and are supportive of my dreams and my interests (as are many parents, especially the parents of the kids at IMG). Why else would they spend thousands of dollars for each of us to be at a sports academy? It is important to realize that what we have in life is a really great thing. Our appreciation for the life’s we have been blessed with is really important. To see kids that are not as fortunate to have parents that are around and supportive of their goals in life is hard. Making a difference in their lives was an amazing experience and I was glad to do it. Next time you talk to your parents on the phone, thank them for the effort they have put in, caring about you and your future.
Bright and early on Saturday morning at 8am, the bus was rolling out from in front of Pendleton. Eight students, accompanied by Mr. Charlie Kennedy ventured into Palmetto, to participate in Habitat for Humanity. Even though it was a bit cold, it was a beautiful morning for building houses. Upon arrival, the students were required to hand in their forms and sign in as volunteers in order to do anything. They were then given their particular assignments. Some students and Mr. Charlie Kennedy were given their various assignments which ranged from carrying wood, painting, sanding and caulking. The students all had a good time, while also getting the satisfaction of helping others. It was a learning experience for some students as well, who became experts in things such as caulking. Work was done from around 8.30 am until noon with a break for snacks in between. The Pendleton students were all satisfied with the work they put in by the end of the day. They then went out to lunch before returning to IMG.
On November 22nd, Pendleton will be going to Palmetto to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, an organization that builds houses for underprivileged families. Last year Pendleton was lucky enough to volunteer with them, and if you ask any students who went along with that trip they will tell you that it not only fun but very rewarding too. The build will be from 8 a.m. until 12 noon at the new build site in Palmetto. Below is a map to the new build site called Memphis Area. If you are 16 or under the only jobs you can do are landscaping or painting, but if you are 17 or older you can do all the regular construction. We need at least 15 people and so far we only have 7 signed up. The two forms that everyone needs to fill out are:
HERE and
The Pendleton Panther 
You must be logged in to post a comment.