YPN MLK Day of Service

By Catherine Lott
National MS Society  

“Volunteers Needed - Boys and Girls Club Hackathon”
 
It was the subject line of an email I received that intrigued me and concerned me all at once. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, my office was closed, so I had the day off work. I knew I wanted to do something to honor the day and use my valuable hours wisely, so why not jump in with my fellow YPs and volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club?
 
How about because I know absolutely nothing about coding?
 
It seemed like a good enough excuse to back out, but the initial email confirmed that no coding knowledge was necessary. I stopped thinking, signed up, marked my calendar, and stepped away.

Photos by Latesha Evans, Hawthorne Suites by Wyndham Raleigh

​I’m so glad I didn’t doubt myself or the event.

As dozens of young children began filling the room of YPs, you could feel the excitement and energy in the room rise exponentially. They were ready to hop on computers and get to work.
 
While we came across glitches (that’s what coding is all about, right?) it was fun to problem-solve with the children.

​“Oh, I’ve used this program before!” they exclaimed.
“Oh no, I can’t pretend like I know what I’m talking about because they know more than me,” I thought.

​What started as a concern over not knowing how to run the program the children would be using, turned into a great learning experience and fun day just hanging out with some pretty cool kids.

​We wrote stories about people who inspired us. We used a coding program to make animated movies. We ate pizza. We played with robots. We spent time with some of the great youth of our area while getting to know a handful of fellow YPs just a little bit better.

​All-in-all it was a pretty great day. I can’t wait to see what community outreach program we have up next!
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