Center of Life (COL)
Title: Hazelwood Eats: Official Camp Cookbook
Student Interns:
Liliana Chavez
University of Pittsburgh School of Education
Pearl Park
University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health
Academic Preceptor:
Martha Terry, PhD
Associate Professor Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health
Community Preceptor:
Sarah Crawshaw, MEd
Education Programs Manager, Center of Life
Community Site:
Center of Life (COL) is a nonprofit organization founded by Pastor Tim “PT” Smith in 2001. COL provides rich academic out-of-school programs and experiences in music and arts for youth in kindergarten through 12th grade. At COL, “Everything Is About People.” The four pillars of COL are education, resources, healthcare, and the arts. The organization offers four main programmatic areas for youth: Fusion/Camp Hazelwood, Aspiring Leaders Teen Academy (ALTA), the KRUNK movement, and COL Jazz. COL’s programs for the broader community include their Family and Community Engagement Center (FCE), Social Justice Resource Center, Jazz/KRUNK Summer Concert Series, and a COL summer basketball league.
Team’s Experience:
The Bridging the Gaps student interns spent most of their time working with Center of Life’s summer day camp, Camp Hazelwood, which serves students from kindergarten through 8th grade. They spent their days immersed in classroom activities, participating in field trips, and building relationships with students and staff. In addition to their work at camp, the interns also supported the distribution of bi-weekly food boxes for the community and attended weekly basketball games and Jazz/KRUNK concerts. As part of their contribution to the community site, the interns developed a series of lesson plans featuring simple, healthy recipes designed for students in 6th through 8th grade. These lessons aim to teach basic cooking skills while encouraging healthy eating habits.
Reflections
“My time spent with Center of Life has been so rewarding. [That] I have been able to grow connections within the community of Hazelwood and COL has been incredible. I am extremely grateful to the staff and students for welcoming me into their space and allowing me to learn with and from them these past weeks. I hope that our contribution to COL will continue to benefit the youth within this space.”
Liliana Chavez
“Throughout my BTG experience, I learned what it means to serve the people with humility and compassion in the Hazelwood community. Without the people, there is no such thing as ‘us.’ To be in the shoes of the community is more of a privilege than to make assumptions based on one’s gender, race/ethnicity, class, etc.”
Pearl Park