This week was short and sweet! To start off the week, I met with representatives form another nonprofit called PCs for People. This organization refurbishes old laptops and desktops and distributes them among communities in need of access to technology for a significantly reduced price. This helps divert old technology from landfills and helps individuals and communities stay connected. It was a wonderful opportunity to hear what they had to propose as a possible partnership. Many of the individuals and families we serve do not have access to laptops and desktops, making it difficult to do some of the things we often take for granted like enrolling their kids in school or finding transportation. In addition to this, even if they do have computers, many of these individuals do not have the digital literacy skills necessary to navigate our complicated systems. PCs for People seeks to both equip individuals and communities with the technology they need to access the internet as well as helping them develop digital literacy skills. I hope to be able to partner with them in the future and help some of the clients at the RIC gain access to these important resources.

On Wednesday, we also had our Volunteer appreciation dinner at the Whetstone Park of Roses. This was such a wonderful opportunity to be able to take care of all the amazing volunteers and show our thanks in person. We had an incredible meal made by one of our neighbors, Tania, who recently received her cooking license and is now available for catering orders! We heard stories from our volunteers about their experiences at the RIC and got to learn more about the sewing club that has been growing over the years! I loved hearing stories from volunteers about all of the funny, challenging, and beautiful moments that occur when connecting with neighbors. I was personally very happy to see many of the volunteers who helped at summer reading. I appreciated their help and enthusiasm more than I have words for and I loved getting to catch up with them and thank them again.

It is very strange not having summer reading to look forward to at the end of my work day. I definitely miss getting to see the kids everyday. However, now we are kicking off summer literacy camp! This is a smaller, more formal group than summer reading, but I am looking forward to seeing how the kids learn and grow over the course of the next week!