Project Transformation

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o November 30, 2011
Project Transformation Site Applications Due

o December 2, 2011
Project Transformation Associate Director Applications Due

o March 1, 2012
AmeriCorps Member Application Due

o May 21 – 25, 2012
AmeriCorps Member Training Retreat at Camp Loughridge in Tulsa

o May 29 – June 1, 2012
AmeriCorps Member Site Training

o June 4, – July 27, 2012 Project Transformation Camps

First-year intern Lindsey Floyd (pictured above) with fellow intern Josh Brown at the 2010 Bartlesville Celebration Dinner.

Lindsey was one of six interns to receive the Jeremy Bassett Visionary Award. Award recipients are nominated by their fellow interns because of their dedication to the mission of Project Transformation and their outstanding leadership as AmeriCorps members. Lindsey served as the Reading Coordinator at Oak Park UMC in Bartlesville during the 2010 summer program.

The following is an experience Lindsey shared from her summer: The first week of camp, after I had done assessments and the kids had a couple days to read on the levels I gave them, a little girl who is going into the 1st grade was reading with one of our volunteers. She stopped reading, came up to me and told me that her book was too difficult. She insisted that she couldn’t read anything except books 2 levels below where I placed her, and told us that she could only read the ABC book. She went on to tell me that at home her Mom made her read, but that she got yelled at if she made a mistake or didn’t know what the words were. My heart melted, and I just wanted to cry for that little girl. I knelt down, looked her in her eyes, and told her she was very smart and I was so proud of her for being such a good reader.

We picked out a book together from the level she didn’t want to read from and went back to her seat. She was very distressed about it so I sat down with her and the volunteer and encouraged her to try reading the first page. She only needed help on a few words and she was even able to sound them out by herself. After the first page I got so excited for her and told her what a good job she’d done. continued next column

Volunteer with Us:

Read one-on-one with children
Lead an afternoon enrichment activity
Provide and share a meal with the interns
Join our Steering Committees
Financially support the program

Oftentimes we are frozen by fear or helplessness when we hear the stories of the nation's inner cities. Through Project Transformation, 55 college interns break down some of the barriers and engage in urban mission alongside volunteers from urban and suburban churches. Project Transformation invests in the spiritual development of each intern, opening their eyes to the needs and opportunities for service .

She just looked at me and got the biggest smile on her face. I said, “See we’re all here to help you, and no matter what we will never yell at you for not knowing a word. You don’t ever have to worry about that. I’ll be so proud of you if you just try the best you can.” She had the biggest smile on her face and without saying a word just leaned over and gave me a hug.

That was the best moment I’ve had since I started working camp this summer. Three weeks from the end of camp she was one of the strongest readers in her group and always showed me when she finished reading a book to see if I was proud of her. It’s easy to forget that what we say might be the only encouraging words some of the children hear. They just needed to know that someone believes in them and appreciates their efforts when they really try. I’m so glad I’ve been able to be the person to provide those words to them this summer.