Kids say the Darndest Things

Kids say the Darndest Things

Day 2 was packed full of so many great experiences! We started the morning with Focus First. This program goes to various different daycares and preschools in the Memphis area and provides free vision screening and follow up vision care for children, typically those under the age of 5. Once we met the team at their office, we split up into pairs and went with the various AmeriCorp members to numerous daycares and schools in the Memphis area. One group went to a Spanish language immersion school and another was sent to a preschool for the deaf, just for two examples. All the locations were great learning experiences and allowed our group to step outside their comfort zones. After learning about the fancy cameras they use for their testing and actually getting a chance to screen the kids, a lot of us got some "coffee time" with our leader to learn more about them and gain insight on their impact to the Memphis community. Since they weren't too much older than us we were able to really connect with them and gain a true appreciate for the work they do everyday. We ventured to Overton Park for a midday break and lunch. We had a nice surprise from Benjamin's mom that was so special (and involved a delicious carrot cake)! 

After a lunch, we headed to the Ira Samelson Jr. Boys and Girls Club. This was such a great time for everyone! Our experiences ranged getting our hair pulled out to recording music in the studio and learning some "interesting" facts about our presidents. Rumor has it according to one of our new friends, that Hillary Clinton is Donald Trump's wife.... We learned the importance of empowering the children and how just taking time out of our day is a way of showing them we genuinely care. In addition to these more humorous things, many of us also talked to kids about college and the importance of education. It was nice for us to work with a demographic in which we don't have a lot of experience. We got to play and have fun for the afternoon, while also having a positive impact on their life. 

After a full day of service we headed to downtown Memphis. We had a delicious dinner at Huey's and stuffed ourself with cheese fries. The tradition of the restaurant is to shoot toothpicks into the ceiling through a straw. 3 out of 4000 attempts were completed successfully from our group. We walked around Beale Street and were total tourists after our great dinner. We had so much fun taking pictures and getting to see the city together! 

Cheers to a wonderful first day of service! We will be back tomorrow for more service details and hopefully a 6-0 record to report for the Vols.