The following is a post by Dae Smith, one of YVCKC's Spring 2012 Project Management interns. Read more about Dae and our other intern staff on our Who We Are page.

For the past couple of weeks, the in-school project I work on at KIPP Endeavor Academy with their community service club has been focusing all of their attention on cancer, specifically leukemia, by participating in the Pennies for Patients fundraiser. This fundraiser started with information on cancer and lessons on what it does to your body and what kind of cancer leukemia is. For instance, did you know that one in three people will develop cancer in their lifetime? Or, that leukemia affects more children than any other type of cancer?

After learning about the disease, the symptoms, how it has the possibility to affect everyone, we moved on to activities to deal with the heavy weight of cancer. In-class activities are important and crucial here at KIPP, as leaving the school to go off-site for volunteer opportunities is not easy or readily available for the community service club. First, we played trivia to test the students on what they learned. They were split into different groups and asked a series of questions, racking up points along the way. This trivia game happened to fall on Valentine’s Day, so treats were awarded to all, but the actual winners got an even bigger prize: money. As a former proud owner of two little vintage piggy banks, when one fell and broke I gathered up all of the loose change, divided it into five bags and awarded it to the trivia team winners, to get their homeroom started in the Pennies for Patients Fundraiser.

KIPP has eight different homerooms, for all of their students ranging from fifth to eighth grade. Each homeroom is named after a different university, to really emphasize the importance of a college education for these children. A bottle with the homeroom’s name has been placed in each homeroom to collect change for the Pennies for Patients fundraiser. After all of the lessons on cancer, the activities we did, and a visit from a woman from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Kansas City, these students were ready to start raising money for the cause. There are incentives for each homeroom to win, an Olive Garden lunch for the winning homeroom, and other prizes, but the students also really learned how far the money they raise will go and are continually bringing in more. The fundraiser goes until the end of this week, so we do not yet know how much money KIPP will raise for Pennies for Patients, but we do know that they will be helping to further advance research in Leukemia, and help support people that are currently battling this disease. The Community Service Club’s participation in the Pennies for Patients fundraiser showed their ambition to learn and help their community.

Something I quickly learned about YVCKC is that you never know what to expect; every project is different. 

Over the years, I've volunteered with dozens of organizations through YVCKC and am extremely grateful to be able to give back to the community through such a fantastic organization. This MLK Day, I volunteered at the HALO foundation's (Helping Art Liberate Orphans) Kansas City location.

We started with an ice breaker, as usual. For this one, Paul had us break into two teams and then draw slips of paper out of a bag with something on it, like "wrench." The volunteers then had to guess what the word or object was from the leader's clues; the twist was the actual word that was trying to be guessed could not be said. The two teams ended up tying. 

After, we got to work. We started by making frames for photos of some of the children HALO serves. This was a good time to not only help others, but also get to know the other volunteers better. As a 4-5 year YVCKC veteran, I knew some of the people on this project, but not everyone. 

As we completed the frames, it become obvious that everyone had a unique style. This is something I love about YVCKC. People come from all over the city of different ages, from different schools, different backgrounds; people come together to achieve a goal. And to be able to do this through art was an amazing and fun experience. 

And achieve the goal we did. Before long, our task had been completed and we moved on to helping the physical facility. 

Jobs included sweeping, cleaning windows, organizing the sewing room, emptying trash bins and other small duties. Again, it's astonishing how quick people are to help out. Volunteers who had finished their duty, they would offer help to others right off the bat. That quality isn't something you see everyone, and is something to be grateful for. 

At the end of the two hours, we all gathered in a circle and talked about Martin Luther King Jr. and why we volunteer, giving up time on our free day, on this holiday. Every volunteer said something they noticed, following a HALO tradition. Common themes were individuality, universal acceptance of others and various ways of working, good attitudes, and a cohesiveness volunteering magically magnifies. 

Martin Luther King Jr. Day honors a man who did something without being asked to better his community. He did not do it alone, but called people around him together to push for something that was important to him, the country, and even humanity. And Rev. King did not ask for recognition; that wasn't the point. 

I strongly believe the projects on the same day achieved these goals as well, and I have always thought YVCKC goes and above and beyond.

But I am writing about something I observed. And as a result, I can confidently say I truly think the MLK Day HALO project honored Rev. King and embodied what the day is all about.