And so it begins!

The past few weeks have included some hours of extra sleep and getting to know my new kitten, nayeli! The apartment is finally coming together and starting to feel like home. I will post pictures at a later time! But this past wednesday through friday was devoted to AmeriCorps training in Lexington, KY. Here i met many great people and generated a great excitement! For those who don't know what AmeriCorps it is a program that sends out members to serve in their communities for one year. Each program has their own goals and projects. My specific program is called the SUCCESS Corps. At this time there are 7 full time members serving throughout the state of Kentucky. Our mission is to give every child a fair start. The program uses a strength-based curriculum called MIHOW, which is a program out of Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennesse. The MIHOW curriculum follows the mom during pregnancy and then after the baby is born up to the age of 3. I will be doing things such as teaching the importance of pre-natal vitamins, check-ups, to showing them the importance of tummy time and breastfeeding. With MIHOW, i will be someone the moms can use as a place for information, support, and an open ear. I will help them with appointments, services if needed, and a provide them with a caring heart. I cannot tell you how excited I am to be working with future mothers and their children. As you all know, I love children and take interest in the amazingness of pregnancy. Children are something to be celebrated and bring joy to many as they do me. I cannot wait to take what i have learned through my experiences being the oldest of 4 children, babysitting starting at the age of 12, and my schooling in elementary education. I hope to help and spread my love! I will make a difference.

I will be going to my site in Richmond this coming Tuesday to start my orientation with my site supervisor, Debbie. My office/site is at the Headstart central office. Through Headstart, I will be getting to know some of the families and gaining some moms to work with through them. I will also help in the classrooms at times. I will be doing a monthly service project, my first one being this coming Saturday! More details will follow.  I will be trying to get out into the community as much as I can and to get to know the area as well. This is the beginning of something amazing! I hope that everyone will take something from my experiences as will I! And so it begins, my adventures as an AmeriCorps member!