{"id":13854,"date":"2020-10-15T11:53:09","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T15:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?p=13854"},"modified":"2022-03-21T16:03:02","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T20:03:02","slug":"building-blocks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/building-blocks\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Blocks Intern Repairs Trauma, Connects Community Members"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jonah
Jonah Bolton ’21 guided Building Blocks volunteers at worksites this summer in Kalamazoo. Bolton was an intern, taking on roles as a volunteer coordinator and construction facilitator.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kalamazoo College students such as Jonah Bolton \u201921 who sought on-the-job work experience and community-development opportunities didn\u2019t have to choose between the two this summer thanks to the Center for Civic Engagement<\/a> and the Center for Career and Professional Development<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Through the departmental partnership, another group of qualified students worked at local organizations from AACORN Farms to the YWCA in Community Building Internships. The positions, offered each year, lasted about six to eight weeks, and interns were on the job for 30 to 40 hours a week while earning a $4,000 stipend.<\/p>\n

Bolton, a political science<\/a> and international area studies<\/a> double major with a focus on Latin America, worked with Building Blocks of Kalamazoo, an organization<\/a> originally founded in 1995 through a sociology<\/a> course at Kalamazoo College offered by Professor Emeritus Kim Cummings.<\/p>\n

Upon its founding, the organization wanted to provide community organizing experience for students while supporting the efforts of neighborhood associations in low- to medium-income neighborhoods. Bolton followed that mission by working as a volunteer coordinator and performing roles similar to a construction facilitator, helping to coordinate home improvement projects and expanding the organization\u2019s bandwidth in Kalamazoo\u2019s Northside neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\"Building
Jonah Bolton ’21 said his favorite part of his Building Blocks internship this summer was connecting communities with volunteers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOur guiding philosophy at Building Blocks is that we empower residents to do community building themselves, whether that\u2019s to improve a yard, plant flowers or pursue neighborhood cleanups,\u201d Bolton said. \u201cThey hadn\u2019t done a lot of construction recently. But I\u2019ve taken on the role as the new liaison on the Northside, where Building Blocks hadn\u2019t done any programming for a couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n

In summer 2018, Bolton worked with the Appalachia Service Project<\/a> evaluating a home\u2019s renovation needs as a volunteer coordinator. He also obtained experience as a volunteer organizer through First United Methodist Church in Kalamazoo<\/a> where his mom, Julie Kline, serves as the senior pastor. Bolton then transferred that experience into what he did with Building Blocks, allowing the organization to pursue projects that benefited homeowners who couldn\u2019t pursue projects themselves. Projects included securing porches and hand rails, replacing treads leading to a porch, painting, replacing windows and even fixing bullet holes in doors.<\/p>\n

In Bolton\u2019s words, the volunteers repaired the violence and the trauma that had been at houses as they created connections between volunteers and residents.<\/p>\n

Building Blocks \u201cwas running into problems we don\u2019t necessarily find in other areas of Kalamazoo, where we encounter people who are disabled or can\u2019t work on their own homes,\u201d Bolton said. \u201cThat\u2019s when we started bringing in volunteers from different churches in the area. I have connections with the churches and that\u2019s the model I\u2019ve been developing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of the time, Bolton was preparing for a job the volunteers would tackle on the following Saturday, figuring out what projects would be done, which volunteers were available, and what materials and tools were needed. Others in the organization rarely were available to address such issues, making Bolton a valued asset.<\/p>\n

The following Saturday, Bolton took the volunteers around the worksites, gave them a breakdown of what they were doing at each site and connected them with neighborhood residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my favorite thing: Creating connections between these volunteers who might attend a primarily white church and those who can give first-hand witness to some of the effects of systemic racism in our neighborhoods,\u201d he said. \u201cI see that in our introductions and casual conversations, and we push for that community interaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going into these projects, Bolton was hoping for a career pursuing political science on a global scale. Now he\u2019s not so sure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been studying politics and international studies and these larger scale things,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019ve been having such a good experience learning how to engage in local politics and work in my local community, it feels so much more tangible. I can see what I\u2019m doing and I really like that. I learn so much from all the residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of what he chooses, Bolton\u2019s experience at Building Blocks came as a blessing in disguise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we applied for these internships, I applied for several, although Building Blocks wasn\u2019t one of them,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t even know what it was. I applied for all these other internships and Building Blocks found me, and asked me to be a part of their team. For Building Blocks to turn out to be such a wonderful thing for me was a blessing. I\u2019m proud of that organization because it\u2019s been devoted to justice even with the pandemic. To not be stagnant in this time is very cool to me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kalamazoo College students such as Jonah Bolton \u201921 who sought on-the-job work experience and community-development opportunities didn\u2019t have to choose between the two this summer thanks to the Center for Civic Engagement and the Center for Career and Professional Development. Through the departmental partnership, another group of qualified students worked at local organizations from AACORN […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":147,"featured_media":13876,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[231],"tags":[93,117,63,96,121],"post_formats":[],"class_list":["post-13854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-students","tag-career-development","tag-civic-engagement","tag-international-studies","tag-political-science","tag-sociology"],"yoast_head":"\r\nBuilding Blocks Intern Repairs Trauma, Connects Community Members<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kalamazoo College students such as Jonah Bolton \u201921 who sought on-the-job work experience and community-development opportunities didn\u2019t have to choose\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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aria-label=\"archive of category Students\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/category\/students\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Students<\/a>","tags_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/career-development\/\" rel=\"tag\">career development<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/civic-engagement\/\" rel=\"tag\">civic engagement<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/international-studies\/\" rel=\"tag\">international studies<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/political-science\/\" rel=\"tag\">political science<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/tag\/sociology\/\" rel=\"tag\">sociology<\/a>","social_share_info":"<a data-share=\"facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/building-blocks\/\" class=\"pl-facebook-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-facebook-f\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/building-blocks\/\" class=\"pl-twiiter-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><a data-share=\"linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/building-blocks\/\" class=\"pl-linkedin-share social-share-default pl-social-share\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin-in\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a>","wordExcerpt_info":"<figure id=\"attachment_13871\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13871\" style=\"width: 584px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13871\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/10\/Jonah-Bolton-Supervises-at-Building-Blocks-Worksite-600x784.png\" alt=\"Jonah Bolton Supervises at Building Blocks Worksite\" width=\"584\" height=\"763\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13871\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jonah Bolton ’21 guided Building Blocks volunteers at worksites this summer in Kalamazoo. Bolton was an intern, taking on roles as a volunteer coordinator and construction facilitator.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Kalamazoo College students such as Jonah Bolton \u201921 who sought on-the-job work experience and community-development opportunities didn\u2019t have to choose between the two this summer thanks to the <a href=\"https:\/\/cce.kzoo.edu\/\">Center for Civic Engagement<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/career.kzoo.edu\/\">Center for Career and Professional Development<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Through the departmental partnership, another group of qualified students worked at local organizations from AACORN Farms to the YWCA in Community Building Internships. The positions, offered each year, lasted about six to eight weeks, and interns were on the job for 30 to 40 hours a week while earning a $4,000 stipend.<\/p>\n<p>Bolton, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/programs\/political-science\/\">political science<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/programs\/international-area-studies\/\">international area studies<\/a> double major with a focus on Latin America, worked with Building Blocks of Kalamazoo, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbkazoo.org\/\">an organization<\/a> originally founded in 1995 through a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/programs\/anthropology-sociology\/\">sociology<\/a> course at Kalamazoo College offered by Professor Emeritus Kim Cummings.<\/p>\n<p>Upon its founding, the organization wanted to provide community organizing experience for students while supporting the efforts of neighborhood associations in low- to medium-income neighborhoods. Bolton followed that mission by working as a volunteer coordinator and performing roles similar to a construction facilitator, helping to coordinate home improvement projects and expanding the organization\u2019s bandwidth in Kalamazoo\u2019s Northside neighborhood.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13874\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13874\" style=\"width: 584px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13874\" src=\"\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/10\/Building-Blocks-Volunteers-Gather-Outside-a-House-004.jpg-600x479.png\" alt=\"Building Blocks Volunteers Gather Outside a House (004).jpg\" width=\"584\" height=\"466\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13874\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jonah Bolton ’21 said his favorite part of his Building Blocks internship this summer was connecting communities with volunteers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cOur guiding philosophy at Building Blocks is that we empower residents to do community building themselves, whether that\u2019s to improve a yard, plant flowers or pursue neighborhood cleanups,\u201d Bolton said. \u201cThey hadn\u2019t done a lot of construction recently. But I\u2019ve taken on the role as the new liaison on the Northside, where Building Blocks hadn\u2019t done any programming for a couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In summer 2018, Bolton worked with the <a href=\"https:\/\/asphome.org\/\">Appalachia Service Project<\/a> evaluating a home\u2019s renovation needs as a volunteer coordinator. He also obtained experience as a volunteer organizer through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umc-kzo.org\/\">First United Methodist Church in Kalamazoo<\/a> where his mom, Julie Kline, serves as the senior pastor. Bolton then transferred that experience into what he did with Building Blocks, allowing the organization to pursue projects that benefited homeowners who couldn\u2019t pursue projects themselves. Projects included securing porches and hand rails, replacing treads leading to a porch, painting, replacing windows and even fixing bullet holes in doors.<\/p>\n<p>In Bolton\u2019s words, the volunteers repaired the violence and the trauma that had been at houses as they created connections between volunteers and residents.<\/p>\n<p>Building Blocks \u201cwas running into problems we don\u2019t necessarily find in other areas of Kalamazoo, where we encounter people who are disabled or can\u2019t work on their own homes,\u201d Bolton said. \u201cThat\u2019s when we started bringing in volunteers from different churches in the area. I have connections with the churches and that\u2019s the model I\u2019ve been developing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Most of the time, Bolton was preparing for a job the volunteers would tackle on the following Saturday, figuring out what projects would be done, which volunteers were available, and what materials and tools were needed. Others in the organization rarely were available to address such issues, making Bolton a valued asset.<\/p>\n<p>The following Saturday, Bolton took the volunteers around the worksites, gave them a breakdown of what they were doing at each site and connected them with neighborhood residents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s my favorite thing: Creating connections between these volunteers who might attend a primarily white church and those who can give first-hand witness to some of the effects of systemic racism in our neighborhoods,\u201d he said. \u201cI see that in our introductions and casual conversations, and we push for that community interaction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Going into these projects, Bolton was hoping for a career pursuing political science on a global scale. Now he\u2019s not so sure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been studying politics and international studies and these larger scale things,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019ve been having such a good experience learning how to engage in local politics and work in my local community, it feels so much more tangible. I can see what I\u2019m doing and I really like that. I learn so much from all the residents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of what he chooses, Bolton\u2019s experience at Building Blocks came as a blessing in disguise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we applied for these internships, I applied for several, although Building Blocks wasn\u2019t one of them,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t even know what it was. I applied for all these other internships and Building Blocks found me, and asked me to be a part of their team. For Building Blocks to turn out to be such a wonderful thing for me was a blessing. I\u2019m proud of that organization because it\u2019s been devoted to justice even with the pandemic. To not be stagnant in this time is very cool to me.\u201d<\/p>\n","comment_info":"No Comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/147"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13854"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13875,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13854\/revisions\/13875"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13854"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_formats?post=13854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}