SUMMIT Review
My first year as a SUMMIT intern was 2020, which as I’m sure you know was a precarious year because of COVID 19. That year, SUMMIT involved a lot of work around the church. Every time you put your nametag on the board, I helped make that! So, coming into SUMMIT this year, I was expecting something similar. However, very early on, I was told that this year there would be a lot more time spent at a local service agency rather than at Westminster.
I was assigned to the Shalom Community Impact Center at 7605 Aurora Ave, Urbandale. Eugene Kiruhura founded Shalom Community Impact Center to support refugees and immigrants with access to educational, social, and economic upward mobility. I was involved in their Summer Program.
I began my work in early June where I would be playing with and teaching kids throughout the summer. I would get there early at 8:30 to unlock the doors for everyone else. The kids would arrive at 9am and while we waited for the rest of the kids to arrive, we would play soccer in the gym using cones as the goals. I oversaw the 3rd and 4th graders; there were about 13 of them with about 40 kids in total. Once the kids all arrived, we would do something different depending on the day. Monday and Thursday we would go to the nearby Lions Park where the kids would play more soccer, enjoy the playground, go down the slides and swing on the swings. We’d do this until it was time for lunch at Olmstead Elementary School. After that, we would go back to the church, and we would do some schoolwork. We had worksheets covering multiplication, addition, and subtraction. There were also plenty of books that we read. The kids were particularly big fans of picture books. We’d do this until 3pm when it would be time for the kids to go home for the day.
On Tuesdays, we’d be back at the church for more soccer and schoolwork. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we would eat at the church where people would cook lunch in the kitchen there. We would set up chairs and tables in the gym. Occasionally in the afternoon we would watch a kid’s movie like ‘Puss in Boots’. Each week on Wednesdays we would go to the northwest pool, by Hoover High School in the afternoon. This was very popular among the kids, and they always looked forward to it each week. We also went on a few field trips throughout the summer. The first one we went to the Art Center. We also went to Get Air another day which is very similar to Sky Zone for those who don’t know. One of my favorite days was when another summer group from a different church came and we played soccer with them in a full-scale 11 versus 11 game that came down to the very end.
Overall, my time with SUMMIT this summer was very eventful, and I learned so much working with Eugene. It has honestly been a great experience. I have a lot of fond memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Almost all of these kids were refugees, and if they weren’t, then their parents were refugees. Working with them was so rewarding. It felt good to be able to see how I was impacting their lives, every time they would drop off or pick up their kids, they always thanked me in such a sincere and genuine way. I want to thank Susan Denton and Jim Holcomb for helping organize this whole adventure, it really could not have been done without them.
*SUMMIT is Westminster’s summer internship program for college-age young adults in our congregation. Interns work in the church and at local social services agencies, learning valuable skills in mission.