Quality Control Group – Spring 2023

Group Project Two – Small Wins
CMST& 230 Small Group Communication (Carel Neffenger, Instructor)
Group Members: T’Naya Woods, Nicholas Tan, Mykhailo Avzny, Anne York

Problem Identification

A member of our group noticed that there were many unsupervised kids hanging around after school in the Lea Hill neighborhood and occasionally getting into mischief in local stores. Children who wander are subject to a number of dangers and this is an issue because their safety and development are at risk. Playing near busy roadways is not the only problem; they could also be subject to the influence of the rising crime rate and drug abuse happening in front of them. It may sound cliche, but the children are our future and we must do everything we can to ensure they reach their full potential.

Our questions were the following: “How can we help protect children from the dangers of wandering the streets of our neighborhood and are families aware of options for local afterschool and summer activities?

Problem Analysis

According to Youth.gov, “Afterschool programs can support social, emotional, cognitive, and academic development, reduce risky behaviors, promote physical health, and provide a safe and supportive environment for children and youth.” The Afterschool Alliance and Metlife Foundation (2014) support these claims and add that middle school students are especially prone to risky behaviors after school when unsupervised. Since our timing for this project was the end of the school year, we hoped these benefits would translate to summer youth activity, too..

We observed which age groups and times kids were wandering the streets of Lea Hill and concluded that school age children, specifically during hours when school is out, is where the problem lies. This community is primarily populated with children aged 0-19 and adults aged 30-50, with the average household ratio of three kids to every adult. One group member has a child attending one of the three local elementary schools and offered great insight as to what could be the cause for so many unsupervised kids. The majority of the adults are working during the day and after school most students are left to entertain themselves with little to no structure or have exhausted parents juggling many daily tasks. We needed to find a way to contribute to structured entertainment for these students. We knew that no matter what we presented to the children, parents have the final say and means of transportation and funding. Thus, our target audience became the Moms and Dads of Lea Hill.

Solution Criteria

The Small Win should be a complex task that requires more than one person to accomplish (a basic definition of the purpose of a group), can be accomplished within the timeline of four weeks, and involves all members of the group in the Small Wins solution. In addition, it needs to be consistent with the college’s guidelines for the safety and security of our students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Solution Suggestions

• Passing out flyers/spread awareness of after school activities and programs
• Having information announced in school
• Try to get information out at a school event
• Hang a banner at the park with contact information for the City of Auburn Parks and Rec Dept.
• Get information to teachers to share with students

• Contact the YMCA to see what programs they offer
• Attach candy to flyers (kids love candy!)
• Put info in Little Free Libraries or weatherproof container to hold flyers
• Ask the Green River woodshop department to build a little free library
• Set up a stand in a park to promote causes
• Use social media somehow to share information
• Calling parents to let them know about the programs
• Ask some camp programs to “demo” what they do
• Assure the kids with a fun video that camp is fun and educational

Solution Evaluation & Selection

We decided to set up an information table at Lea Hill Park to distribute printed information about summer activities and events for children and invite park visitors to take whatever was of interest. Activities represented were from the Auburn YMCA, JA Biztown, Auburn Parks and Recreation Department and King County Library summer reading program because these are nearby and accessible. We chose the location of Lea Hill Park for its proximity to three elementary schools; many parents and children visit this park in the evening so we chose 5:30-7pm on a Thursday (June 1) because we had observed heavy use during weekdays.

We chose not to pursue creating a Little Free Library with information (too expensive and time consuming), putting up a weatherproof container with flyers (did not want to maintain it), contacting schools to share information (too complicated), hanging a banner (the city had already done it), using social media, calling parents or getting a summer program to demo their program (didn’t feel like it would have an impact).

Solution Implementation

On 5/15/23 we started gathering print information from local organizations offering afterschool and summer activities for kids from the organizations listed above. By 5/30/23, we had copied flyers, purchased fruit snacks and bottled water, created a sign, and located a folding table. On 6/1/23 the group met at Lea Hill Park and set up the information table in a central area near the play structure, picnic shelter and basketball court. From 5:30-7pm we interacted with about a dozen parents and children enjoying the park, a separate gathering at the picnic shelter, and a group of teenagers playing basketball. We invited kids to decorate the sign with markers,

which added an element of spontaneous participation from our target community. At the end, a group member took extra flyers to her apartment complex to distribute to neighbors with hopes of extending our reach.

Conclusion

Overall, our group worked well to implement this project and we felt it was a successful small win for its time frame and scale. We shared tasks based on member availability and skill and helped each other to be accountable. Everyone showed up and played a role at the event; we were lucky to have a group member who spoke Ukrainian/Russian for one particular parent! We successfully handed out information for local youth activities to interested parents and children.

While we achieved our small win, not everyone was open to taking flyers. For example, the teens asked for water/snacks but said there was no place to store a flyer while they played basketball and the picnic shelter group was primarily focused on a birthday party. Improvements include considering the timing of other local events (we unknowingly chose opening day of local pools), picking a location with a higher concentration of elementary aged kids, finding more “free” activities to share (a question we were asked about a few times), and offering scannable QR codes to get information.

References

Afterschool Alliance, & Metlife Foundation. (2014). Keeping Kids Safe and Supported in the Hours After School. Afterschool Alert: Issue Brief No. 65.

Rothwell, J.D. (2019). In mixed company: Communicating in small groups and teams. (10th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Youth.gov. (n.d.) Benefits for Youth, Families, and Communities. Youth.gov