Through the support of an AmeriCorps grant awarded to Grinnell College, the Grinnell Education Partnership places a cohort of AmeriCorp Members in host sites across Grinnell, Iowa, to support summer learning efforts. This is a testimonial from one of the AmeriCorps Members who served at SLICK (Summer Learning is Cool for Kids), a summer school program hosted by the Grinnell-Newburg School District.
My AmeriCorps experience this summer was one to remember. Not only have I made many memories with the kids, but as well as my fellow AmeriCorps members, who have become friends of mine. I bonded with the kids very fast and they always made me laugh. There was never a day where I didn't have a smile on my face. One of my favorite parts of SLICK would be the afternoon rotations, because the group of kids would be mixed up. I got to know more kids this way and the kids made new friends. The kids liked the activities and it melted my heart when one of the kids thanked me for helping them during an afternoon rotation. As the days went on, the bond grew stronger and kids were getting sad that the days were soon coming to an end. During gross motor skills, one kid told me that he was going to miss me and didn't want SLICK to end because he loved to learn. Another kid wrote a poem saying "SLICK is fun, SLICK is cool, now I'm ready to go to school." On the very last day, some of the kids started crying because they didn't want SLICK to end. It touched my heart and I knew that I really made an impact on those kids. I recommend AmeriCorps to everyone because you make an impact and help those in the community.
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