- There are few moments I can think of more satisfying than hearing my student's mother ecstatic about how well her daughter had, through Berrie Buddies, developed not just the technical skills, but the social skills she needed to protect her life and live comfortably -Davina Etwaru
- If we begin to provide educational venues like Berrie Buddies for children with this chronic disease, then the $58 billion dollars the nation spends annually on Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes related complications could be significantly reduced. Type 1 diabetes may not be preventable, but its long-term complications such as nerve damage, heart disease, blindness, and kidney disease can be prevented. These educated diabetic children will grow into well-informed adults who are armed with the knowledge to be guardians of their health. -Alani Gregory
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What We Do: Berrie Buddies is a program that works with the Naomi Berrie Center of Columbia Presbyterian to support and teach children, ages 7-14, with Type 1 Diabetes. We accomplish this by creating a curriculum that seeks to enforce a handful of objectives (carbohydrate counting, biological aspects of the disease, long and short term complications, etc.). Instead of teaching the children in a classroom style setting, we teach through games and interactive activities such as jeopardy, memory, relay races. The volunteers are responsible for coming up with different activities that reinforces the objectives of the week.
Logistics: We meet on Fridays from 3-6:45pm (travel time is included). We take the Columbia Shuttle up to the Naomi Berrie Center. Volunteers are expected to attend all programs for the entire academic year. We also have an hour long, mandatory Reflection Session once a week. How to Volunteer: Due to the level of commitment that we demand from our volunteers, there is an application and interview process. This is not meant to scare anyone, we just want to make sure our volunteers are dedicated and able to interact with children. Unfortunately, we are at full volunteer capacity this semester. If you would like to apply later on, we can add you to our email list at berriebuddies@gmail.com and alert you as soon as a position opens up! |
Contact Us: Email Berrie Buddies Coordinators: Chris Yim CC 2010 Davina Etwaru CC 2010 Shefali Kumar CC 2011 Ashley Thompson |