Thinking ahead to summer...

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>It's getting to be that time that I'm starting to start thinking about the summer...early, I know...but you need to be on your game these days, and there are so many things that I want to do...but there is one thing that stands out from the rest: Being a city host for CSM (the Center for Student Missions).</p>

<p>My youth group did a trip through CSM, and I absolutely loved it! It was one of the best weeks of my life, and I say this even 2 years later!</p>

<p>After I came back from the trip, I decided that I wanted to be a city host, so I looked into it, and found out that you have to have a year of college under your belt before you can...and I was just a rising senior in high school. Well, last summer, it couldn't work out because I had to take a class, but this summer, it could. Applications are available now, so I'm planning on sending an email requesting one...but I need to figure out where I would want to do it. My youth group went to Toronto, so I don't think I want to go there, just so I get a new experience...but there are 9 other cities that they work in! When you apply, you have to specify what city you want...but how do I choose? I've narrowed it down to 3 (I think)...LA, Houston and DC...but that's still more than I can apply to...</p>

<p>Anyway...the job is pretty much guiding groups that come and helping them with what they do and being a leader. You get to help out at soup kitchens, rescue missions, day cares, Bible studies etc. and meet all kinds of people while having a lot of fun and making a difference...and in all honesty, that sounds like the perfect job for me. I'm a nursing major, and I'm really interested in public/community health/serving under-served populations and the like, and this would give me some (non-medical) background in that which would be great!</p>

<p>I really hope that I can do this, but I'm confused and overwhelmed thinking about it!</p>

<p>Any advice?</p>

2

<p>DC’s a chill city</p>

<p>I’m not sure what advice you’re looking for though, it sounds like you have it figured out.</p>

3

<p>I don’t have it figured out…I have it narrowed down to 3 cities, but I need to choose only 1. </p>

<p>How should I decide? That’s the kind of advice I’m looking for…</p>

4

<p>Well since we have no idea what kind of thing you’re looking for it’s hard. </p>

<p>Out of all those the only one with good summer weather is LA. DC has the best public transportation though. Houston’s summer weather is even worse than DC’s.</p>

5

<p>What do you know beforehand about each city? Maybe you would be best suited to lead a group around a city that you are most familiar with.</p>

6

<p>I gave a description…</p>

<p>I said:</p>

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7

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<p>Out of the 3 cities that I’m most interested in…I’ve only ever been to DC…and that was only for Obama’s inauguration. </p>

<p>You don’t need to be familiar with the city beforehand though. They give you intensive training, and there are only certain places in the city that you’ll go anyway, except of course when you have free time and can choose to explore and go elsewhere.</p>

8

<p>All three of those cities have soup kitchens, rescue missions, day cares, Bible studies and ‘etc.’</p>

<p>I think you’d have the most fun in DC or LA, but I’ve never been to Houston or LA. DC has a lot of good outreach programs too. And we’ve got some pretty good hospitals here… meaning you might just end up meeting someone who down the road could get you a gig.</p>

9

<p>I know they do…CSM has different types of things in each city though, but the same overall.</p>

10

<p>From the website, here are the things in each of the 3 cities (LA, DC and Houston) that interest me the most:</p>

<p>Los Angeles:</p>

<p>*Central City Community Church is located in Skid Row. Its vision is to be a church where homeless and poor neighborhood residents can be welcome, feel comfortable, and worship alongside other believers. CCCC also hosts S.A.Y. YES! Center for Youth Development, an after-school program for children who live in nearby Skid Row hotels. CSM groups help to lead S.A.Y. YES! Bible times, tutor neighborhood children, participate in the Karaoke Coffee Club and assist CCCC with its ongoing maintenance needs.</p>

<p>Las Familias del Pueblo is a day care facility for poor working parents in downtown L.A. Its small but dedicated staff (usually 2-4 people on any given day) work to cope with over 50 lively children. CSM groups are much welcomed as they lavish much-needed time and attention on these little boys and girls.</p>

<p>Alegria is a Salvation Army transitional housing facility and program for families who have become homeless as a result of HIV/AIDS. The families at Alegria tend to isolate themselves in order to cope with the seriousness of AIDS. However, the staff here knows that it is socially, emotionally and even physically healthy for the families to interact with people outside the program.*</p>

<p>Washington DC:</p>

<p>*So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.) serves breakfast and lunch seven days per week to 500-1,000 persons. S.O.M.E. also provides medical and social services to Washington’s poorest of the poor. CSM groups help with food preparation and distribution.</p>

<p>Martha’s Table runs both a day care center for poor moms as well as a kitchen that prepares food for McKenna’s Wagon, a food-for-homeless program on wheels. McKenna’s vans distribute food to five different locations in D.C. CSM groups help in the day care and kitchen at Martha’s Table.</p>

<p>Medlantic Center is a 68 bed residential facility for senior citizens and terminally ill patients. It is a Medicaid facility whose residents have no more than $2,700 in total personal assets. many of these residents have family in the area but the families do not visit their relatives in the facility. CSM groups fill in the gaps by visiting with, shopping with, and sometimes even playing bingo with the residents at Medlantic.*</p>

<p>Houston:</p>

<p>*House of Tiny Treasures is Houston’s only licensed child care center for homeless children. It is one of many programs offered by the Service of the Emergency Aid Resource Center for the Homeless (S.E.A.R.C.H.). The House of Tiny Treasures, in addition to day care, offers health care, immunizations, hearing vision, and speech screening, and other services. CSM groups interact with these children as they assist the staff with their duties.</p>

<p>Lord of the Streets is a social service agency that strives to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the homeless in Houston. They provide clothing, counseling, vouchers for food, and referral services. On Sunday mornings Lord of the Streets becomes a church that is organized and attended by the homeless. CSM groups participate in the weekday morning devotional that is open to anyone coming in off the streets, and then complete a work project on site.*</p>

11

<p>I actually have been to DC twice. I went there with my youth group for a trip the summer after my freshman year of high school. I can’t believe I forgot that!</p>

12

<p>I’ve volunteered for Martha’s Table before. It’s a really nice charity. But you still haven’t said what you’re looking for in a city.</p>

13

<p>What do you mean what I’m looking for?</p>

<p>I don’t get to choose what I do if I work for CSM…I get to choose what city I want to work in out of the 10 cities they operate in.</p>

<p>I posted what I like about the 3 cities that are my top choices…</p>

<p>What else am I supposed to say?</p>

14

<p>Well you’re asking for advice about how to choose between three completely different cities, and you’re not telling us what kind of city you want to go to. I don’t understand what you expect people to say.</p>

15

<p>I don’t know any more than what I’m telling you…I want to do this program. It’s held in cities. I’m most interested in DC, LA and Houston. They all have things that look good to me.</p>

<p>I’m asking how to choose based on that.</p>

16

<p>Honestly? The weather. It sounds like you’re enamored with all the options. </p>

<p>Or just roll a die.</p>

17

<p>I sent an email saying that I’m interested in hosting, and the three cities that I’m most interested in…so hopefully I’ll get a response soon and can go from there.</p>

18

<p>So I got a response, and a link to the online application…and you choose your top two choices on the application. Since that’s the case, I think I’ll dump Houston since I’ve always been less sure about that one than LA and DC. I’ll need to pick a top choice out of those two…but this is good information.</p>