Day 5

Today, we served City Impact one last time by cleaning all the dorms for the next group coming to serve. After breakfast Mr. Joslyn shared a devotional about Good Friday which ended with a invigorating clip of Dr. S.M. Lockridge "That's My King" sermon.

The buses then arrived at 10am and we drove to In-N-Out for one last meal together before returning to TKA. 

We had a fantastic week serving at City Impact. Every student had great stories to share throughout the week. Please ask your students!

Here is some more pictures from the week... https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1796Zk-8Lk1Wlqsn8T8ZpFfJ1lwTi_SdM?usp=sharing

Here is the clip from this mornings devotional... https://youtu.be/yzqTFNfeDnE?si=W-LLjpoG5bCZp9pL

Happy Easter! 

Day 4

Today is our final day serving with City Impact. Over and over again the staff here have said how very impressed with how enthusiastically and hard working all of the students are. In fact we put them weeks ahead of schedule, so we started prepping for different upcoming events! Here is a reflection from tenth grader Rose Zheng student about this week...

At City Impact, I not only learned about making cold calls to donors, or teaching kids at City Academy, or sorting through clothing in the design lab, but I also learned how to truly listen to someone’s story before assuming that they are “less” and trying to dominate them. The people who live on the streets or the impoverished kids might seem different from us, but in reality, they can be intelligent, talented, and incredibly kind in so many ways. In fact, I consider it a privilege to serve them because I have learned so much about perseverance, faith, and gratitude from them throughout the week. 
Another thing that I learned on this trip was that behind the scenes service is just as important, if not more, than service that gets a lot of recognition. Although we frequently did tasks that seemed mundane such as sorting toys or packing food, I learned about how there was so much internal meaning behind what we did to benefit people in need. 

We ended tonight with a devotional from Dr. Njoo, a time of reflection, communion, and then students sharing. Before bed we played a super fun game of Bunco. 

We are looking forward to cleaning up and coming home tomorrow. Please make sure to ask your students what most impacted them about this trip when you see them tomorrow! 

Mr. Wilton

Pictures from today.... https://photos.app.goo.gl/VxCRJESg5pT8nKvh9

Day 3

We had another very full day serving alongside City Impact staff. Students broke into their ministry groups and worked really hard today. Here are some stories from our students about their experiences so far... 

First, Mindy Chen (10)... 

I am extremely grateful for this opportunity that I have been blessed with. I worked with kindergarteners

on Tuesday, helping them with schoolwork and reading to them. It is amazing how energetic and hardworking the kids are despite not being the most privileged. Sorting through the clothes in the Design Lab on Monday, I realized how lucky I was to be able to make choices. Choices on what to wear, what clothes to buy were all privileges that I have been taking for granted. It's important to always be grateful and thank God.

Second, Jamily Lee (12)...

Yesterday we served at the City Academy. I’ve always loved working with kids so I challenged myself to get out of my “comfort zone.” I worked with Janet, an eight grader who clearly didn’t want any help. She seemed mad and she turned her head away from me. As I sat there, I prayed to God to give me a wisdom
to help her and to soften her heart. I’m so glad that she allowed me to help her with assignments after 5 minutes. Praise the Lord! I ended up helping her with math and Bible homework, and she even opened up about her family and friends!  

We ended our service time early today to hear about SF City Impacts child sponsorship program. They also talked about summer internship opportunities at City Impact. You can find out more information here...

Sponsorship Program: https://www.sponsor.sfcityimpact.com/

Intership: https://sfcityimpact.com/volunteer

Here are photos from today... https://photos.app.goo.gl/G85D16e6JANEWxmy5

Day 2

What a full day! Starting bright and early this morning groups went out to serve in the various ministries City Impact runs everyday. Let's hear from a few of the students about their experience today...

First, 9th grader Juno Devine...

Walking into SFCA (K-8 school) initially it was rough to be blunt. The environment, setting, and aroma were all new. I was assigned to work with the Kinder- First grade division. I thought the same exact feeling of entering the school would carry on, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Working with these
energetic and passionate children open my eyes to a completely new world. These kids single-handedly made my trip. It meant the world seeing all of the kids smiling at the sight of me even through such adversity. It shined light on me showing me how happy these kids can be in such areas. I made me also realize how grateful I am to be apart of TKA where I have so much available to me.

Second, 9th grader Tyler Huff... 

On the first day we made cold calls to donors. It was a fun and new experience for me and my class mates.
I got to get outside my comfort zone and told people about the mission of City impact. Today I was able to work with kids in the SFCA (K-8 school). It was a fun and new experience being able to help those kids have a better day. It was fun doing God’s work and I hope I can do it again in the future.

Lastly, for the third year in a row we have senior Ryland Adzich on the trip who for the last several years has been coming to City Impact on her own! Here is what she is doing beyond TKA service weeks...

I am the project manager for a partnership between the Stanford Reading and Dyslexia Research Lab and San Francisco City Academy in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. I administer the ROAR (Rapid Online Assessment of Reading) to students in K-8th grade.

The Rapid Online Assessment of Reading (ROAR) is an ongoing academic research project and online platform for assessing foundational reading skills. The ROAR is a suite of measures; each is delivered through the web browser and does not require a test administrator. The ROAR rapidly provides highly reliable indices of reading ability consistent with scores on other standardized reading assessments.

I have been administering assessments since the fall and in this current round of spring testing, I am hopeful that the score report data can help teachers understand how to help their students best.

Wow, what amazing stories and those are only three of our students! Look here for more student reflections. Lastly, check out the pictures from today... https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZypQiFFbp1SFonYTA

Mr. Wilton

Day One

     We made it to SF City Impact and we've already had a great start to our week of serving the community in the Tenderloin. Arriving at 136 Taylor (City Impact's headquarters) everyone got settled then the groups jumped right into serving. This week we are mainly serving in six areas... City Academy (K-8 private school), the Kitchen (which serves meals to the school, community, and serving teams), Design Lab (free retail store for the community), City Kids (after school center for children of the Tenderloin), Hospitality Hub (giving meals, groceries and services to the community), and working in development.

    In the morning I got to witness students work in the Development department make calls to past donors asking people to participate in City Impacts Spring fundraising drive. Witnessing our students use a phone to actually make a phone call was a sight to see. They were so nervous to call and had to practice so many times before making a call. But, as they called and read the script they started to become more comfortable. During a call one of our students prayed for the person on the phone! 

Throughout the week our students will be helping to prepare for Easter Sunday here at City Impact. One of the ways they helped today was by
packing Easter eggs with candy and bible verses. They also created Easter baskets out candy! 

We ended our day with a time of reflection and devotion. Then with an exciting Spoons tournament! 

Everyone is tired and looking forward to serving more tomorrow. Please be praying for a restful sleep, health, and willing spirit again tomorrow. 

Mr. Wilton

Checkout some photos from today! https://photos.app.goo.gl/uV4GqwQgXmTkPyXA7