Being an intern at QC Family Tree via Summer Communities of Service has been one of the most enlightening, challenging, and fun summers I have had the privilege of experiencing. Charlotte, NC is a vast city of youth that have incredible dreams and goals. The youth at QC Family Tree go through so much in their daily lives, there are everyday obstacles that could deter them from reaching their goals, but absolutley nothing keeping them from smiling. I am so gratful for my opportunity to learn and grow with them all summer. 

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When I first decided to join Summer Communities of Service (SCOS), I must admit that I was wary. I was completely unsure of my spirituality, and I was very worried about dedicating myself to a summer full of exploring that. However, the benefits of being able to work with kids for two months during my summer highly outweighed the “costs” of working in Ellis Avenue Church and probing into my beliefs. After two months, however, my outlook has changed so much. I am now two weeks away from leaving Chicago for the SCOS debrief in Minnesota, and I have grown more as a person in this span of time than I originally imagined.

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I must admit, my SCOS internship experience started off rocky. I was emotional, homesick, uncomfortable, and experiencing anxiety, which I had never experienced before. I can happily say that for the most part, these emotions subsided as I got to know my co-intern, Kennedey Bell, and my site coordinator, Pastor Jonathan Friesen. It is always an uncomfortable experience being far from home, around many people you don't know, but this SCOS Summer was about saying, "YES" and being open to new experiences. I loved this internship because everyone involved in the program made sure that interns were thoroughly taken care of, mentally, physically, and emotionally.

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My name is Beth Morley, I’m 19, and I live in Glasgow, Scotland. This summer I’m volunteered as a Summer Communities of Service intern in East Harlem, NY. I first found out about the program through Pastor Chris Lawrence, who is a family friend from the UK, who is all the pastor of Church of the Living Hope where I am volunteered. This summer at the Church of the Living Hope we have been leading a project called ‘Faces and Places.’ The aim of the Faces and Places project was to bring people together in order to strengthen relationships within the community and continue working together towards an improved neighborhood. Over the past 8 weeks we brought people together as a community through the sharing of sports, photography, food, music, face painting, and arts & crafts.

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