Put me In Coach

(4) What did you learn in the field experiences that helped you understand Philadelphia better:
Baseball fields were seen all over Philadelphia. This particular one is located right across from Front Step in a neighborhood park. While partnering with Front Step to help clean up a neighborhood in a struggling part of Philadelphia I was able to speak with many of the people who lived in the area. Many people were walking by or sitting out on their porch when we came by picking up trash. Philadelphia is the city it is today because of the people who have lived there as well as the people who continue to live there and shape the structure of the city. Working alongside Front Step provided me with an excellent way to get to know those who were living in poverty, those we were serving, as well as a way for me to get to know Philadelphia. Before stepping out to work within the neighborhood we were warned about theft, but because the people living there were delinquent, but rather they were simply just poor. We were also informed that the specific neighborhood we were working in had the lowest education levels in the city. But yet, once we began speaking with the many people we saw out on the street my ideas of the people of Philadelphia were changed and my ideas of Philadelphia the city were changed as well. The neighborhood was trashed, however, all these people needed was a little motivation. Every single person I spoke with out on the street simply needed to know someone cared. One man even asked me where I found the trash pinchers I was using. Service as simple as cleaning up trash on the street provided just enough inspiration for some living in that neighborhood to say “put me in coach!”Read more