On this visit, we were invited to volunteer by one of the directors of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a new receptionist and funding administrator for the organization, and the development officer. During this fieldwork, I felt very happy because the idea of kids using what we were making and having fun with it sounded amazing. It made feel like what I was doing was going to have a very positive impact on the world, even though it was a very small gesture. The people there were very kind to us, and they talked about their work very casually. It didn’t seem like they were hurt by their work and stories they heard; you would never be able to tell that they worked in a business so tragic as child abuse prevention. The clinician’s we have met said that each of the clinicians got to really know their patient. The therapies they received depended on the kind of child they were. I thought this was one of the most amazing aspects of this facility. They offered therapies from playing, art, talking, dance, and more. I think this what really differentiates this facility from others. While most facilities have only a few methods of therapy to offer, this one has many. This organization also had other qualities that set it apart from many others, such as its history. The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was the first child abuse prevention agency in the world! I was aware of this before I went into the facility, and this fact sounded unreal to me. I can’t believe that I have volunteered with this organization, it feels like magic but also super official. There were many volunteers alongside us and all of them were talking and laughing. It didn’t feel like what we were doing was serious at all. It was a very positive setting as well; there were cookies on the table and Christmas music playing. The workers were impressed by us because we could teach them about certain things that they didn’t know or hadn’t heard of. I think that we should try to make kids leave our teach-in with the same feeling we had when we did this fieldwork. We could possibly create something during our Teach-in for children in need, like backpacks or packages.

(photo by NYSPCC)

The feeling that what they were doing was going to impact someone positively made me feel like I wanted to volunteer forever, and if we can give kids that feeling we can turn them into activists.