My name is Dorothy Franklin, I have been serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate at United General District 304 in Sedro-Woolley, Washington. In my service, I have been able to assist in delivering some of the more than 50 programs throughout Skagit County that support health and wellbeing at every stage of life. This summer, I became trained as a facilitator to help launch new programs like Find What Moves You for 12–14-year-old girls, Around the Table, a healthy choices cooking class for older adults, Summer Garden Days, a garden camp for kids 7-11, and much more. In addition, I participated in several outreach events and parades, from the Skagit County Fair to Berry Dairy Days in Burlington, to Concrete Youth Activity Day and the Cascade Days Parade. The best part of being in parades was getting to wear a carrot costume and do coordinated movements to “We’re All in This Together” from High School Musical, I think we all looked pretty fantastic!

Throughout the 10 weeks I served, I had several memorable moments I know I will remember, but particularly working on the program with young girls was one of the most impactful. Find What Moves You is a mindful movement program for girls 12-14, with the goal of increasing body awareness, appreciation, and embodiment through a variety of movement activities, mindful relaxation practices, group discussions, and self-reflection prompts. Myself and another AmeriCorps service member, Jay, were assigned to the Concrete Boys and Girls Club, with a group of seven girls. The program was two, one-hour sessions a week, for four weeks, each session with a different theme and activity. We were trained on the program and how to implement each session by the program creators, who came from Washington State University to teach us. The goal is to incorporate mindfulness and body appreciation into different movement activities, and encourage self-reflection, curiosity, and playfulness. Increasing mindfulness of the body and thoughts as we engage in physical activity is important to understand motivation. The spirit of the program is that movement and exercise should be enjoyed and not motivated by an outcome, like winning or changing your body or appearance. Our group of youth was so engaged and fun to lead. I loved getting to teach the movement activities, especially kick boxing and yoga! The girls were always making me laugh and surprised me with how thoughtfully they engaged with each session. Though they started hesitantly, over time they really began to love the program. Even those who didn’t share in group discussion were always writing on their reflection handout, I loved being able to see each of them think about the ideas and themes. I found this program so impactful because these were ideas I hadn’t been introduced to or considered at that age, and getting to impart these ideas knowing they would not grow up having the same experience was so amazing. Often the message fed to young girls is that they need to change, make themselves smaller, and “fit in”. If I had been introduced to these ideas of mindfulness in movement at that age, I think navigating exercise and self-confidence growing up would have been much different, or at least a tad bit easier.

Looking back, I have been challenged in many ways by so many new experiences, but I learned so much personally and professionally. I grew as much as I saw my program participants grow and had so much fun at every step. My skills and confidence in health education and community outreach have increased exponentially, and my connection to the community has strengthened even more. I loved getting to serve as an AmeriCorps with United General District, it was the highlight of my summer, and I would not trade my experience for anything else!