Thank You 2018 Water Squad Volunteers.
Three years ago, the Activist Lab started Water Squad for a couple of reasons. The first was because the summer months in the city can be brutally hot and folks could use some water. It’s simple, but it’s true. The second reason for starting Water Squad was because members of our Medical Campus community were questioning how to become better members of our local community. What do you do if you see someone asking for money on the sidewalk? What do you do if you see someone who has wandered into traffic? Do you stop and say hello as you move between the various buildings on campus? Handing out water gives us an opportunity for intentional, although basic, interaction that emphasizes the humanity of our neighbors.
Water Squad may have started for these two reasons, but as we conclude our third year, it’s abundantly clear why this simple activity has continued with such great success. We sent all of our volunteers a survey about their experience (and we are still collecting responses so if you volunteered but didn’t respond yet, check your email or reach out to activist@bu.edu for a new link). From their feedback, it’s obvious how powerful participating in Water Squad can be in shifting our perceptions and increasing the feeling of connection and community inside and outside the School. Here are a few examples:
“Thanks for the experience! Something so simple like passing out water was a great introduction to the community and a wonderful way to start building a relationship with the people.”
“Water Squad was an incredible experience and a wonderful reminder of the importance of public health initiatives and reform… I would highly recommend this program!”
“Love Water Squad. It’s hard to get away from my work, but I’m so glad that I did. Rarely is anything I am doing so important that I cannot spend 30 minutes away actually engaging with the community, offering respect and acknowledging the humanity of our neighbors.”
We also asked how connected to the neighborhood they felt before and after their experience. Take a look at the results:
Here’s how the Summer 2018 Water Squad breaks down in numbers:
- 94 volunteers participated in 134 opportunities to hand out water
- More than half (48 people) participated for the first time
- We distributed 2,112 ounces of water (about 88 cases of water bottles)
- All of the water was donated
Students, especially new and potential students who hadn’t started classes yet, were our largest demographic of volunteers. This year, we kicked off our Water Squad season with the help of our Select Scholars. The Select Scholars program offers a unique opportunity for outstanding undergraduates with an interest in public health to enroll in a top graduate public health program and join a cohort of their peers through accelerated placement and subsequent graduate training in public health. As part of the program, the students participate in a weeklong summer program to connect with the BUSPH community. We had 12 Scholars participate in Water Squad during their summer program and their previous exposure to urban populations was as diverse as was their feedback from the activity. Some of the students come from urban settings and had participated in similar outreach programs with the goal of feeding or clothing the homeless, not necessarily building community or connection. Others had no such background, coming from fairly rural communities with this being their first time encountering folks on the street. Regardless of this spectrum, all of the volunteers said that they felt excited by the prospect of coming to a School that was thinking about and acting for the improved health of our neighbors and our role in the community.
Activist Lab intern, Mallory Bersi managed the day-to-day operations for Water Squad and often accompanied our volunteers on Albany Street. She took a moment to reflect on the relationships she built with the folks she encountered:
“With Water Squad, every outing brought a new adventure. It was fun to talk with our regulars and hear about how their day or week was going. This simple connection meant so much to me and I could tell it meant a lot to them, too. Water Squad is so simple, but when someone tells you that a quick conversation and a bottle of water or two helped turn their day around, you know that it has a much larger impact.”
Lastly, the Activist Lab would like to say thank you. Thank you to all of you who donated your time and resources to this simple, but incredibly important notion that being present to our neighbors and acknowledging their humanity is important.
We couldn’t have done it without you and we look forward to seeing you next summer!