Most people think of spring break as a time to go on vacation, but a lot of kids with working parents dont have too many places to go without school. That’s where City Year steps in. Late in February Mr. Gooch received an email suggesting that Ice Cream man to sling cream at a spring break camp hosted by City Year Los Angeles. The timing was a little tough because it was right after we got back from Texas, but we pulled it all together for a Friday Ice Cream Social at two schools.
City Year is a national non-profit organization that was founded on the belief that young people can change the world. There are four main components to their organization and we were working with the Full-Time Youth Service Corps. They’re comprised of people between the ages of 17 and 24 who have dedicated a year to giving back and helping the community, mostly by helping out the younger generation as tutors and mentors. This year, the Corps was hosting Camp City Year for 300 students in South Los Angeles and Watts to provide a structured, educational and fun environment for them during spring break.
Gooch and I rolled up in Bessie to Normandie Avenue School. Matthias happened to be up in LA and was able to stop by to take some (awesome) pics. There were just over a hundred kids at each school, broken down into groups of around 25, and each color group (blurple was my favorite) lined up for treats. Everything went smoothly and the kids loved it. In between groups we’d chat with the volunteers to get a better idea of what was going on.
The more I learned about City Year and the Camp, the more impressed I was with the organization as well as the volunteers. It takes commitment to set aside a year of your life to help out others. I kept thinking how much they must be learning from all this. Not too many 17-24 year-olds are surrounded by kids all the time. After starting Ice Cream Man at the age of 29 and driving around Ashland for my first summer, I realized that kids are just younger people and you can treat them that way, as opposed to treating them differently because they’re kids. I can’t imagine a better way to learn management and leadership skills, either: Controlling a group of 25 kids who all REALLY want ice cream isn’t the easiest thing to do.
We rolled up to the Watts school next and noticed some go karts on the playground. Of course, I’m a huge fan of anything fun, and go karts definitely fall into that category. Before we started slinging I was lucky enough to take Grave Digger for a spin. The kids prolly thought I was nuts, stepping out of an ice cream truck, then hopping into Grave Digger and screaming my head off as I drove in circles. Thanks to TK’s Go Karts and Party Rentals for donating the vehicles for the festivities. Thanks also to the other sponsors who make it possible. A few logos I remembered seeing were STAX Records, Disney, and E! Entertainment. There’s a bunch more listed here.
For young folks out there interested in joining City Year Los Angeles, you can Apply here. If you’d like to see what other cities you can serve in, there’s a list of all 18 here. I’m glad we were able to take part in Camp City Year and hopefully our ice cream services can be a part of other events down the road.
