{"id":19,"date":"2025-12-29T01:55:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T01:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tomemosuncafecito.org\/?page_id=19"},"modified":"2025-12-31T17:12:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T17:12:26","slug":"tips-for-volunteers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tomemosuncafecito.org\/?page_id=19","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Volunteers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-text-color-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9fc23f818cbc46d94bc3f0de05fd8c13 has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-37efb7d6 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">\n<p class=\"has-text-color-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d6245f861d5a5e737115cb42fb41376e wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Understanding elders and Latinamerican culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before interviewing a senior, think about what they\u2019ve lived through during their lifetime:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Limited life pathways<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-text-color-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b5c9ce256282471d9848da75b4d86312\">Denial of certain rights (owning land, getting medical treatment, voting, employment, etc.)&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Could not marry outside their race<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Marginalization due to their skin color<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Discrimination and Mistreatment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This may help you understand certain emotions or reactions that arise during the interview, and prepare you to address them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Humility: If they do not want to talk about themself or feel uncomfortable telling their story, you can redirect your questions to their family unit. Instead of, \u201cWhat was your favorite childhood food?\u201d you can say, \u201cWhat did your family like to eat when you were a child?\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Shy: If they are not used to telling their story to people, they may need coaxing and reinforcement. Ask questions to get warmed up.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Culture: Some will identify more or less strongly with Mexican culture, often depending on when their family immigrated to the U.S. and where they lived (i.e., elders from Texas vs. elders from Mexico vs. elders from California).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Language: Some seniors may prefer to speak Spanish. Use this opportunity to practice your Spaj9su language skills. Or contact us if you would like support from a translator.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Passivity: Take indirect communication into account. For example, what are they really saying or feeling under the surface?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Eye contact: Assess their physical comfort level. Some may prefer you sit at a corner vs. directly face to face; or try sitting side by side looking at the book together.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pace: Some may require two sessions to complete their book; some may require five.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Top 10 interviewing techniques<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Be friendly and introduce yourself with a warm greeting at the start of every session.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Feel free to skip around the book. Ask easy questions first. Ask the more personal or emotionally demanding questions after a relationship has developed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ask one question at a time.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Be a good listener. Allow silence to work for you. Wait.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use body language such as looking at the interviewee, nodding, and smiling to encourage and give the message, \u201cI am interested.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use verbal encouragement such as, \u201cThat\u2019s amazing!\u201d or \u201cWow, how interesting!\u201d&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dig deeper and ask for specific examples. Say, \u201cCan you explain that in more detail?\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ask them to define words, if needed. For example, ask what they mean by the \u201cice box.\u201d How was it used? What was its purpose?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ask how to spell names of people, places, schools, etc. and any other words you are unfamiliar with. Make sure all names are correctly spelled.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Be flexible. Watch for and pick up on topics introduced by the interviewee, even if the topics are not in the book. Do your best to capture these stories in the margins.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:24px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-76316559f7b792afcb85e78180b645d4 wp-block-paragraph\">Most importantly, have fun! This should be a fun, engaging experience, a time for you and someone to connect, whether it be a family member of future acquaintance!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Understanding elders and Latinamerican culture Before interviewing a senior, think about what they\u2019ve lived through during their lifetime: This may help you understand certain emotions or reactions that arise during the interview, and prepare you to address them: Top 10 interviewing techniques Most importantly, have fun! This should be a fun, engaging experience, a time [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-19","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomemosuncafecito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomemosuncafecito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomemosuncafecito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomemosuncafecito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomemosuncafecito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/tomemosuncafecito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100,"href":"https:\/\/tomemosuncafecito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19\/revisions\/100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomemosuncafecito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}