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Stephen E. Garner Summer of Service Participant
Hello! My name is Celia Brown. I'm part of the Ithaca High School Class of 2017.
I've had the greatest pleasure of working with the United Way of Tompkins County for the past year, participating in two life-changing opportunities. The first opportunity was during the summer of 2016. I was one of a dozen or so students who took part in the Stephen E. Garner Summer of Service Paid-Internships through the United Way of Tompkins County. I had the great pleasure of being assigned to work as a part-time counselor at the Ithaca Community Childcare Center's (IC3) Summer Program. Specifically, I worked with individuals who had a difficult time with self-control, for example, in groups or public places. In addition, being around children with various socioeconomic backgrounds opened my eyes to the tricky balance game all parents/guardians face when caring for children; a healthy environment that consists of both nurture and consequences if one behaves inappropriately. Working with youth is one of my greatest passions in life, I'm incredibly grateful I gained more experience with kids at IC3.
Continuing my journey with the United Way of Tompkins County has been a way to find my calling in what I want to do in the future; I want to help people, in every capacity possible. This past fall, I applied to be a participant in the Youth and Philanthropy (YAP) program through the United Way of Tompkins County. Once I received the email that I had been chosen to be one of eighteen students in the program, I was thrilled. My sister had been a part of the same program when she was in high school, so hearing what she had to say, I had expectations of what it was going to be like when I walked through the door on the first day. Long story short, comparing what I had heard and what the experience was actually like, the real experience exceeded any previous expectations. Youth and Philanthropy is a program where the students involved, as a collective group, are given $25,000 to award different non-profit agencies in the Tompkins County area. Reading applications from agencies requesting money informed me of the type of financial help different aspects of Tompkins County need.
These experiences with the United Way of Tompkins County have helped me learn about myself and the type of person I want to be, more than any individual experience could have. In the future, I only hope the United Way of Tompkins County is able to have as strong an impact on others as it has and continues to on me.
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