Kelsey Summarell

EDU 1400
December 6, 2019
Service-Learning Reflection

The first time that I volunteered at Bear O Care was over fall break and this was the most

memorable experience that I had. I enjoyed this experience the most because I was able to help

the clients with arts and crafts projects. I liked helping a particular client because he loved doing

arts and crafts. He was super fun to work with because he was super energetic about coloring the

pictures and fun to talk to. Another memorable experience that I had while volunteering at Bear

O Care was at respite. I was cleaning and a little girl that had down syndrome did not want to go

home with her mom, but she kept grabbing my hand so, I eventually asked her if she wanted me

to walk her out and she said yes. I enjoyed doing this simple thing so much. Another memorable

experience that I had while volunteering at Bear O Care was cleaning their facilities. I enjoyed

doing this because as I cleaned the hallway, I got to look at all the pictures of their clients and

see them in the community and being themselves.

One thought I have about this experience is that it helped make my days better. When I

first met the clients at Bear O Care and saw their smiles it instantly made me feel better. The

clients I met there had the brightest and biggest smiles that would make any person happy.

Another thought about this experience is that it was very informative. Reflecting back on my first

day I am able to recognize that I had prejudices about people with disabilities but as I went back

and volunteered more I was able to recognize the incorrectness of my prejudices and this

experience helped me to begin to get rid of my prejudices and discriminations. Last thought

about this experience was that it was very fun. I enjoyed helping the clients with art and craft
projects. I enjoyed helping clients draw and color. I had fun reading to clients and occasionally

playing with them with their toys. This experience taught me how fun it is to be around

individuals with disabilities.

One thing I learned from this experience at Bear O Care was how important the

work that they are doing is. Bear O Care is a place for people with disabilities to continue their

education. In Utah, individuals age out of the system at 22 years old and often are placed in

nursing homes. Bear O Care is a place to help individuals to keep learning because most places

in Utah for people with disabilities are to help them find work. Another thing I learned from this

experience is that people with disabilities are just like everyone else. The clients like to do art

and crafts just like everyone else although they may need a little more help than everybody else.

I learned that the clients have their own unique personalities just like everyone else and I learned

that their personalities shine through just like everyone else’s does in their own special ways.

Lastly, I learned that the best way to get rid of prejudices and discriminations against individuals

with disabilities is to have first hand experience with prejudice and discrimination.