Epiphany JCITs keep rockin' it!

Hey y’all,

It’s Melody Abraham and Ashley German, Epiphany JCITs here! It’s only day eight of B-SAFE but a third of the learning has already taken place and we’ve done quite a lot as JCITs. So far we’ve gained leadership and professional development skills and experience and have gone on many different field trips.

One awesome part of being a JCIT is getting to work with the elementary program, LEARN. We help counselors to keep kids safe and focused throughout the day and run Fun at Home Days. This week we taught LEARN about the importance of community engagement. We asked LEARN about what they love most about their communities and together brainstormed ways to make our communities even more beautiful. We enjoyed painting rocks and bird houses with them to help spread positivity and creativity in our neighborhood.

When we are not working with the elementary kids we have fun growing together as JCITs. This week visited the Isabella Gardner Museum and last week we toured Fitchburg State University and took a ferry to Thompson Island where we climbed a 62 foot tower (many of us reaching the top!) When we are not out of the building we participate in B-PROUD, the JCIT curriculum. During B-PROUD we reflect in our journals about social justice issues that we feel passionate about such as gentrification, racism, redlining, homelessness, cultural appropriation, LGBTQ rights, police brutality, and segregation in Boston. During B-PROUD we have the opportunity to share our opinions and to support each other on these matters. Be sure to check out our JCIT assistant coordinator Sahlu Loulsegend’s video about Segregation in Boston. Sahlu is our assistant program coordinator and is going into his freshman year at Northeastern University. We are very proud about his accomplishments and we wish and expect the best from him!

Stay tuned to learn more about the JCITs... Melody and Ashley signing off now because we're on our way to make kid packs at Cradles to Crayons!