ImpACT Springfest Workday 2!

Impact is going really well and so far, the work days have been super fun and efficient. We usually start the night with dinner which has been pretty good even though we had SALAD yesterday! I was surprised myself. I think it was heavily sister influenced.

We started the night by all meeting in the multi-purpose room. Some areas still needed volunteers so we finalized where everyone would be working. The Rowland Heights Boys wanted to volunteer me to be in the skit so that they could see me dress up in a super hero costume but luckily, they were out of the room when they asked for volunteers. I volunteered as a helper so I was open for any position but now I'm helping Jasper with Photography! I'm still really new to the whole photography stuff but I've been learning a lot from Jasper and Mike Zhang. Justin Woo was kind enough to let me borrow his SLR for all of Springfest! Go JWoo!

Besides taking a lot of photos of people working, I helped with decorations also. The multi-purpose room was filled with projectors against every wall, drilling machines and people working on life size posters of super heroes and banners. Everyone was super busy drawing, painting, cutting, gluing, and anything that arts and crafts would entail. If you thought that was a lot, there were more people in the couch area where they were planning lessons for various classes (Chemistry, Bridge Building, Physics, etc.) and numerous other groups planning out games, registration and other logistics. The skit team worked upstairs where they were super loud and could be heard from the multi-purpose room. From what I heard, the skit should be awesome! The other smaller classrooms were busy with people decorating and getting everything set. The computer room had people rushing around to get all the logistics down and printing out any material needed.

Through it all, Andy Tung was able to keep his composure and he's been doing a great job coordinating everything! By the end of the day, I learned how to use an SLR camera, Brian Jue became an expert bridge builder, Justin Teng and Kevin Ding were covered in sawdust from all the wood drilling, and all of us helped out with decorations at some point. We gathered together at the end for some good prayer time with each other and called it a night. It was awesome to see everyone coming to work together amidst the busy midterm schedule this coming week. I found it amazing that all of us were able to sacrifice our times and energy for this event so that we may share God's love with children in our community. Overall, I enjoyed the whole time being there with everyone in fellowship and working as a team to put together an awesome event! Springfest is going to be AMAZING!

ImpACT-Springfest Workday 1

The night started with a feast at North Loop (mandarin orange salad, rice, and very delicious chicken...sorry I had to mention food =D). After dinner, all 140 of us (more or less) from all the college ministries to Praxis to SF State attended an introductory meeting in the multipurpose room, where we learned about the origins of ImpACT(started in 1996!!) and some of the goals of ImpACT (to IMPACT children from diverse and less fortunate backgrounds and in the case of this year's second graders, to help them transition into Joyland after Springfest). We also played an icebreaker game where we had to fill out a bingo sheet by asking fellow volunteers some childhood experiences (i.e. what was your favorite book as a kid?). Whoever filled out their sheet the fastest was to be declared the winner and I remember John K. (frosh) being the first to raise his hand in acknowledgment of this title, but for some reason he was disqualified!

After going through most of the logistics, we split up into our respective teams and focused on our particular assignments. As an assistant team lead and with the responsibility of leading around 7-10 very hyper kids, I was told to read this really neat book called "Dare to Discipline", which was a very informative (and hilarious) expository on how to discipline children in a fair but just manner. Though at first I thought this book might be more useful to Mr. Ho, I was actually, really blessed by how the book expounded upon how God's loving yet stern relationship with us really matches with the kind of healthy relationships that develop between children and their parents through respect and love for one another. Needless to say, I didn't do much else the rest of the night, but many others were busy preparing for Springfest such as planning for the 9 different classes that the kids will participate in (from physics to arts and crafts), designing banners/decorations, games, songs, and even a short message (conducted by Josh Wang). All in all, the night was brimming with excitement and fellowship amongst all the volunteers to the very end, and I can't wait till Springfest begins...because its gonna be awesome!!! =D

Springfest 2008

Springfest is a 4-week program hosted by ImpACT (a non-profit organization that our church started), for 2nd graders from underprivileged backgrounds in Oakland. There's a lot more of the ImpACT story to tell, but here I'll just say that Springfest 2008 will happen this April! This has been a wonderful way to reach out to the community, sharing God's love in tangible ways such as fun outings, inspiring workshops, and homework help. There are many volunteer opportunities of varying levels of commitment, and you are all invited to help out. There's more information (including a brief history of ImpACT) on the signup page. Signups are due this Thursday, so check it out soon...