"The smallest impact can make the biggest difference." A phrase, and belief I always tell the youth of tomorrow before we go and do our community service. It takes a leader to make a difference, a leader who starts a chain of reactions. Think of a set of domino's. Imagine you have one that is an inch in length. Now imagine every domino behind it adding two inches. If you're imagining it right, you have a set of domino's that range from small, to big. Now imagine you set those domino's up from smallest to biggest, and knocking the small one down first. Just a little push. One by one, you see them falling. You've created a chain reaction. The smallest push to the smallest domino made a big difference. You gave it a purpose, to knock the rest down. Now look at it as you breaking down the barriers for a young leader. That small domino thought it's only purpose was to stand there because it thought it couldn't move anything larger than itself. Think of a young person you know, or think of yourself and realize that most kids feel this way. They feel they can't make a difference because it's what they're told. They have so many barriers to overcome and knock down to see clearly that they can! Anyone can!
I am an Corps for Rural Success and Health AmeriCorps member for Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). I just finished my second year, soon entering my third. But I've been involved with a program that the Corps members oversee for at least 4 years now, being established in 2012. Health Professions Affinity Community (HPAC for short) is the name of this program. I started out as a member and leader of HPAC in my senior year of high school at MC2 STEM High School.
HPAC allows students, 6th grade and up through college, to make a difference in their communities. How? Well let me explain. An AmeriCorps member will go into one of the many schools we do our service at, and ask the students, "What health concern in your community really bothers you? Something you see happening or walk by everyday that makes you wish you could do something about it?" A question that helps students realize the problems in there communities. Without taking to long to think, the kids hurry to raise there hands to share. Some of the most popular answers we get are diabetes, obesity, cancer, littering, environmental health, bullying, and mental health. This list, goes on and on with so many different health disparities. These are disparities that effect family members, friends, teachers, neighbors, or the whole community they live in.
Once the students have a topic they are interested in, we tell them to learn a little bit about the disparity by doing research. Most of the time the students will form a group based on common interest, which is what we want to see. Very rarely do we see a student working alone, but even then the AmeriCorps members will work to keep them included and talk to others to gain new ideas. The research they do doesn't just come from scholarly articles they find and read. It also comes from experts that the Corps members will connect the students with. They get the chance to ask face to face any questions they have or any clarification they need. The students get connected to the real world to learn.
Once they have the research portion done, the Corps members will then ask them what they want to do with the information they've gained. They give the students the option to create a community action plan formed around the health topic they did research on. Some of these plans are community color runs, rotating to different schools to share and spread awareness, visiting hospitals to spread awareness, bringing service animals to schools to relieve stress before finals, etc. Once they've got an idea on what they want to do, they write a grant to get funding for the event they plan. A great skill to have and to put on a college resume`. Once they receive funding they start making community connections that will potentially host the events they plan. They then finally implement all the work they've been doing. After, they work to sustain the project from the evaluations they do to make the event better.
We start with a goal to help give back to our communities. Once we do, what then? Well the journey isn't over when they've implemented the work. They now have to go and present at a conference held at NEOMED, Scholars Day! This is where every HPAC, community leader, AmeriCorps members, advisors, etc. come together to learn what others have been doing over the year. This is a time where the students meet potential partnerships, college professors, health professions, and many more. This is the big moment, what they've been working so hard for. This is where they tell there story to everyone, and everyone listens. This is a professional conference. It's a big deal, for us in AmeriCorps and the kids!
The purpose is for the students to realize they can make a difference. No matter who they are. We want them to know that, they too, can make an adult realize potential health threats and spread awareness just like any other adult can. They gain skills like grant writing, planning, organization, budgeting, etc. They learn new things about themselves they never thought they had. They learn how to work with others as a team to make an effort to make a change. They learn how to be a leader in there community.
These students already have it in them. It takes a special person to ignite the fuse in them to make them leave the launch pad and sore higher then they ever thought they could. They need people to believe in them so they can learn to believe in themselves. They need to be shown someone cares about the opinions and ideas they have. They need to be shown that they matter. This is what we do in AmeriCorps CRuSH. This is our purpose. We change lives by helping others change lives. We take these students into our care and grow with them. We lift them up when they get knocked down, and we fight through every challenge together to make sure they get what they need. We are the community. We are leaders. We are AmeriCorps.
Go out, and get involved. The smallest impact can make the biggest difference.
