What I Learned in Katimavik: Volunteering

Hey all, it’s Jess again!

Today I wanted to talk about one of the larger aspects of Katimavik: volunteering. The program itself is a youth volunteering program, so it wouldn’t come as a surprise to many that we volunteer our time as often as possible. Not only do we work full time during the week at assigned volunteer positions; as a group we do group volunteering for different local organisations during the weekend.

For myself, this meant that over the past three months I have been working at three different Salvation Army locations around the city. One location was working three days a week at Meighan Retirement Centre and Meighan Manor, which is their long-term facility next door. The other two locations were Harbour Light Ministries and 614. I absolutely loved working at these placements during this rotation. It brought me major fullfillment working with the people I did on a daily basis and I actually quite enjoyed the actual work part as well. As a group we even volunteered our time to help plant all the flowers for the retirement centre. Some of the residents even came out to cheer us on, as we added some colour to their building. It was definitely a well spent four hours.

We’ve also spent many a weekend working with local organisations helping out in any way that we can. We;ve worked with Best Buddies selling 50/50 tickets at sporting events, helped plant several gardens, directed children around a bike saftey course at a Bike Rodeo, set up and washed up after high tea for Otesha. It almost becomes a part of a regular routine, volunteering every weekend. There is definitely a sense of satisfaction that occurs when you get to help groups out and make sure that everything runs smoothly for them. I know that personally I have had a lot of fun with my group, volunteering together and goofing off. It’s made Katimavik very memorable for sure! I can feel confident when I say that when I go back home I will be looking for volunteering opportunities within my community, and even have plans to darg some of my friend to help out with me.

What I have learned in Katimavik..House Managing 101

Allo all, it’s Jess again!

This morning was our last group breakfast, and nicely enough we all survived unscathed! Granted I’m half awake and nursing my thrd cup of coffee but ah well, There was lots of food, and it felt good/sad knowing that that was our last half-asleep, non-morning person filled group breakfast! As Jackie said this morning this is a week of “lasts”. I think it’s finally sinking in that the program is ending in now exactly a week(!!!!), the emotions are starting to hit. Hence why I’m going to start blogging about what Katimavik has taught me, all the different aspects of the program! So, let’s begin with house managing:

1) How to bake bread: Now I find this pretty impressive considering how unusal that is in this time and age especially with my generation too. I have already had to promise to bake bread for my friends when I’m home! And here is an example of my bread; this is what I made yesterday for the house.

2) Prep work is a very good idea: Take this morning for example. If I hadn’t made the fruit salad the night before or cut up the vegetables for the eggs this morning would have been mental!

3) How to properly clean: My mother will be extremely please when I go home and pick up after myself way more and clean up the house without needing to be asked. We get trained well in Katimavik!

4) Balancing a Budget:Grocery shopping and knowing how to spend within my means will be much easier when I go home due to the fact that we are on a budget for food weekly. I now know how to shop smartley and make sure I use up all food items before buying new items,

5) Creative ways to use up food: I have officially discovered the wonders of baking and how you can use up many food items that no one has been eating. Yesterday I baked banana, flax/sunflower seed and chocolate chip muffins, using up the bruised bananas that no one was eating. And you know what, they tasted awesome!

6) Overall cooking skills: In a nutshell before I started Katimavik, I knew how to make two things: spaghetti and potatoes. That was about it. Going home I can now say I am comfortable experimenting in the kitchen, I feel confident that I can follow a recipe without complete disaster and that when I get home I will be cooking way more. It’s hard to beat home cooked meals.

Thanks to having practise at being house manager I feel confident about moving out on my own later this year, I will not be a starving student and I will also not having a angry roomate on my hands cause I’ve been through lack of dishwashing disasters and let me tell you, they are not fun!! I’m excited to go home and translate all of this into my life back in Victoria, gonna be awesome!

Last Katimavik Weekly Update

Such beautiful smiles!

Hello Everyone,

Well this is the last one, the last Toronto Katimavik update…

The group has had a busy week that culminated in a fabulous volunteer opportunity, a chance to meet some “far north” kids on a Grade 8 trip and learning about how they view their future before creating resumes. The group also worked hard at dismantling bunk beds, sending them away in a U Haul to camp parts unknown (but charitable). The house is coming along in our attempts to empty it and it may be standing only at our Farewell Party!

Otesha’s Wild Oats Fundraiser was a volunteering success on Saturday as the group helped set up, serve and clean-up tea service for over 100 people. There was a performance of Otesha’s play, testimonials and a slide show which filled the afternoon with inspiration.

Saturday evening, the group and I grabbed a quick bite at the Lakeview, (Dundas and Ossington), and headed down to the lower Ossington Theatre where we met up with a group of Grade 8 visitors from the far north of Ontario, Kashechewan, on the James Bay coast.  They invited us to join them for “Rent, the Musical” and we had an excellent time.

On Sunday, Henry Wai came over and worked with the gang for 5 hours as they developed a picture of their Katimavik experience over the last 6 months, an idea of their present, and possibilities for their future.  He offered them individual help for their resumes and was supportive in their needs.

I hope you are able to stop by the house on Saturday for our Farewell Party from 1-4pm.

The group will be presenting their experiences at 2pm and looking forward to seeing everyone who has supported their fabulous experiences inToronto.

This Week and a Half:

Monday – Free Block

Tuesday –QuebecCulture Night

Wednesday – Free Block

Thursday – Last Day of Work,VarietyVillage Workout

Friday -  Packing, Cleaning, Cooking for Party, donating and throwing away

Saturday – Prep for Party, Farewell Party 1-4pm, House Meeting

Sunday – Finish house and prepare for Debrief Camp, leave for Debrief Camp

Mon.-Tues. – Debrief camp at Shared Harvest Farm

Wednesday – Depart program for home…

It has been a pleasure serving Toronto as the Project Leader for our Katimavik house.  I will miss all of our fabulous work partners, amazing billet families, alumni, friends, organizations and neighbours.  Thank you for your contribution to the lives of some pretty special youth that have passed you way and take care,

Katima-love,

Jackie Borosa

Who are these green shirts around me?

 

 

A Rally for Change

Speaker, Mace and Attawapiskat diamonds.

Allo all, it’s Jess.

Day two of my house managing week is commencing today.Today is the day when I attempt bread making and muffin making, hopefully with success..but it has been a while sense I last house managed so we shall see.

Now onto more exciting and relevent news! Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Jackie’s old grade six (now grade eight) class from Cash, which is a reservation way up in northern Ontario off the James Bay Coast. They were given the chance to get a tour of the provincial parliament building and even had the opportunity to meet their local MPP. For myself, it was a very cool to see another parliament building, as I have only seen the BC one and also the Federal one in Ottawa. I overheard what I thought was an interesting connection between BC and Ontario: it seems like the architects that designed the parliament building also had a hand in designing major tourist/heritage buildings in both provinces. In BC the same man planned out not only the parliament buildings but also the Empress Hotel and here in Ontario the same man who designed the parliament buildings here designed Casa Loma. Random facts that I thought were cool!

Jess and the Kash Kids

Another great opportunity that landed in the Cree kids laps yesterday was the option to march in an rally supporting funding for First Nations kids schooling and their rights to have that. A very good cause just considering of destitute and poorly built/funded their school buildings and curriculum are across Canada. Jackie and myself joined them for the first little bit and even got to show off our Katimapride a tad with wearing our t-shirts. I even had a few people approach me and ask me some questions about the future of Katimavik and such. Overall it was a day filled with learning experiences and the chance to show support and pride in the causes that you believe in, which I think it a fantastic experience for the Cree kids to see.

Nothing is so pure in idiology than a child’s convictions of right and wrong.

DImanche!

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Aujourd’hui ce fut une petite journée ce matin j’ai fais ma présentation de mon objectif personelle et par la suite nous avons défait tout les lit de la maison car il parte demain! Donc on dort sur le sol avec un matelas par très confortable mais sa va aller pour genre 7 jours ! Sinon nous avons fait aussi un peu de désherbage dans la cour mais il en reste encore à faire. Par la suite, nous avons eu un ateliers fantastique sur les curriculum vitae et sur les plan de carrière! Pour terminer la soirer nous un temps libre !

Samedi !

Hier samedi nous avons eu une grosse journee nous sommes allée faire du bénévolat pour le projet Otesha ce qui fut très amusant nous avons dut aidé à monter les table avec les assiette et toute le ”kit” de thé! Par la suite nous étions la pour aider à passer le café, l’eau chaude pour le thé et à aider pour la vaiselle qui fut un véritable champs de mine plus de 130 tasse, plus de 300 assiette, plus de 300 ustensile! une chance qu’on est habituer à faire la vaiselle. En soirée, nous somme allée voir la pièce de comédie musicale RENT avec des CREE qui venais de la baie-James, Saskatchewan.

Les Derniers jours !

Mercredi matin nous avons eu un déjeuner avec pain-doré au canneberge avec salade de fruit moi durant la journée je suis allée au musée d’holocauste qui faut très intéressant, car nous avons eu un survivant qui est venue nous parler de son enfance et de son expérience durant la seconde guerre mondiale ce qui fut très intéressant.En soirée nous avions un Temp libre, alors je suis aller m’entrainer! Pour jeudi Nettoyage de la maison préparer le souper qui fut un succes du tofu général tao et nous avons eu la visite des anciens katimavik dans notre maison! Vendredi ce fut une journée de ménage et de désherbage du jardin avec un paté vegé comme souper avec des légumes au curry et avec nous super enseignante de francais et d’anglais pour une dernière fois avec elles!