Red Shield Family Residence, The Salvation Army Greater Philadelphia
Title: Senior Summer Counselors
Student Interns:
Kwabena Poku Boateng
Temple University, School of Pharmacy
Dijonay Richards
Temple University, Barnett College of Public Health
Academic Preceptor:
Jerome Wright, MSW, LSW
Temple University, Lewis Katz School of Medicine
Community Preceptor:
Burnadette Bordoni, MSW
The Salvation Army
Vyneda Durnston
The Salvation Army
Community Site:
Within the scope of its services to the local community, the Salvation Army has reopened its previously closed day camp for children aged 6 to 14. The program provides a safe and supportive environment where participants can engage in recreational activities and educational enrichment.
Team’s Experience:
The Bridging the Gaps interns assisted with the day-to-day operations of the Salvation Army day camp by planning and facilitating recreational activities, leading story times, and supporting behavior management as needed. Additional responsibilities included assisting with meal service and supervising lunch and snack times to ensure a safe and organized environment. To promote health education, the interns developed and delivered an interactive presentation on cardiovascular health. To encourage participation and reinforce learning, the presentation included a Jeopardy-style review game, with prizes and candy distributed to participants who answered questions correctly.
Reflections
This experience has had a lasting impact on me. Prior to this role, I had never worked with children with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), nor had I been around children with such diverse emotional and behavioral triggers. Spending the summer with these children and getting to know them on a personal level was incredibly rewarding. Each child was so unique, and their personalities were vibrant and full of life. In my professional career, I hope to work with populations that have many intersecting social and health needs. Several of the children at the camp resided in the associated Salvation Army shelter, and seeing firsthand how housing insecurity can shape a child’s confidence, behavior, and daily experiences was eye-opening. Listening to them describe situations that were unfamiliar to me but completely commonplace for them gave me a much deeper understanding of the realities many families face. As the summer comes to an end, I can confidently say this experience has broadened my perspective and made me far more empathetic. Working through tantrums and challenging behaviors taught me to be more patient, understanding, and adaptable. I leave this experience with a greater appreciation for the community I have become a part of and a much deeper understanding of the challenges it faces. After spending several years in North Philadelphia, this experience has made me feel truly connected to the community.
Dijonay Richards
I came to this program looking to come out of my comfort zone and being able to interact with the people in our community, and I would like just to say I am proud to have been able to do so. If there is anything or anyone I would never hate in this world, I would say it’s children. I want to be someone who makes an impact on the lives of kids. I came to pharmacy school, and I didn’t think I would have an opportunity to do such a thing until I heard of this program, and I am happy I had such an opportunity. This program and being a camp counselor helped me get an insight into the lives of the youth in underserved communities and seeing how it can affect the way they react to certain situations and how they behave, and it made me very empathetic. I appreciate all our preceptors, especially Ms. Vyneda Dunston, giving me advice about how to interact with the kids and understanding certain behaviors for me to have the best solutions for certain issues. I’d also like to thank my partner who, while I did the recreational activities with the kids, helped with arts and crafts and practiced cursive writing with the kids. Overall, this was a great summer. Instead of being the kid at the summer camp, I was the counselor at the summer camp and got to interact with so many kids with beautiful, explosive personalities that I know will help society in the future when they are guided the right way. I learned patience and how to be understanding for these kids, especially the ones who have it rough before coming to camp. I hope I can use this experience and apply it to when I am a pharmacist and interact with patients of this community and give them the best care possible. I thought I knew something about my area, but this experience has opened my eyes to so many things I never even thought of. I thank Bridging the Gaps for such an opportunity.
Kwabena Poku Boateng
