Backpack Reflection

On Monday, October 17th I volunteered to help the American Red Cross and other organizations at Purnell Swett High School. I was directed to a woman named Priscilla who oversaw a portion of the outdoor area. Our group was quite diverse. It consisted of young high school and college students, middle-aged parents, some senior citizens, and even a girl who appeared to be no more than nine years old. Everyone was in good spirits despite the recent tragedy. Our task seemed to be simple enough, however, we would soon discover it was going to take more planning. We were assigned to the rear of the school where we would sort through various bags and boxes of donations. Priscilla directed some of us to carry items to different rooms based on their size and whether the clothes were designed more males or females, children or adults. As organized piles began to form, these volunteers posted signs indicating the sizes in those piles. Priscilla asked a different group to take the flat boxes and fold and tape them to allow packing of the clothes. Another set of people were instructed to write the names of the recipients on the boxes. The final group, which later consisted of those who completed their share of the work already, was assigned to fill the boxes with appropriate items and seal them for delivery.

I participate weekly in a club called Peanut Butter and Jelly Club, which is arranged on Wednesdays after school, which purpose is to feed the homeless, as well is the activity in which I consider is the most important I partake in which has benefited my community. Being, I am making a positive change in my community by feeding the homeless who are in great need of food as well combating hunger among various people through my actions. I am making my community a better place through food donations, fundraisers, and sandwiches for the homeless. as well it is a wonderful feeling when I hear the news that our food is able to reach and impact various homeless people, and is able to uplift their day. Furthermore, Peanut Butter and Jelly Club is a

I chose my project by understanding that I love to sew and help others. I could have made blankets as well but I believed that the children in the care of lutheran family services would appreciate the stuffed animals more. The organization that I donated to helps kids who are refugees, kids in foster care, homeless kids, and even run a adoption program. These kids will come into these programs with little to nothing to hold close to them, in fact they are alone with no parents or with parents who have no money and are incapable of caring for them. My goal for this project was to make the kids who have nothing feel that they have something. Give them a chance to feel loved, and have a friend who will never leave them behind. Also, I

In Summer 2014, I worked with a non-governmental organization called Safe Passage in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The area was one of the most poverty stricken zone in Guatemala City; a majority of parents of students received their income from recycling items found in the Guatemala City garbage dump. I worked with students ages three to eight, and supported the teaching staff by providing homework help to students so they would understand the work they were assigned, in addition to facilitating one-on-one group lesson with students. After working with the students, and the teachers I learned that Safe Passage provided a strong support system for the students and families who could not always provide for themselves, and redirect their lives.

I learned that not all people can afford to buy new stuff for their newborn babies. Many families in our community are struggling to make ends meet. There is a big difference between those who have more than they need and those that don’t. I hope that by giving a baby hat, that a family can buy something else they will need for the baby like diapers. This project address those needs because it gives that family something they might need but can not afford. Other work to address this need is happening at Goodwill and the Clothes Bank. They also help people that don't have a lot of money get the clothes they need. I can apply this learning in my life by making baby hats and donating the clothes I don't wear, need, or don't fit to Goodwill or The Clothes Bank. I learned more about the Clothes Bank and how they help people in need from my aunt Nancy. I could also help address this need by asking my parents or peers if they would want to help make baby hats or ask if we could go to the Clothes Bank and see what we could do to help. I could tell them that many people can't afford their own clothes and that we need to give back because we have so much more than the people in need. I will make more baby hats this summer and I would like to tell my family and friends more about it the need for clothes in our community. This activity was a lot of fun but it also helped me learn about the people who can not

I know that I can help people in need, so I'm interested in doing some volunteer work or anything that can help the less fortunate. This is part of my identity, which is meaningful and part of who I am. It all began in 10th grade when my teacher created a project based on the movie “Pay it Forward”, and in this project we had to do as many good deeds as possible in one semester. I went around Sao Paulo and did volunteer work, besides small good deeds in my own neighborhood. One of my good deeds was going around the city with a few kits containing a sandwich, some fruit, and a juice. We handed these kits out to several homeless people we found around the city. I felt great after doing

I organized a school supply drive to a resource center in Guanajuanto, Mexico. My goal was to give low income citizens access to equal educational opportunities as their wealthier counterparts. I created flyers, which I placed around my high school. I also raised awareness through social media. I set up a donation box in a classroom at my school. The drive lasted a little over one month. At the end of the drive, I organized the items, taking inventory of my collections and sorting them into boxes. The supplies completely filled three moving boxes. I had donations of all sorts of school supplies, from index cards to backpacks. To present a little perspective on the magnitude of donations, I had collected over 700 pencils. I shipped the supplies

Three years ago, I started my journey to provide shoes for the fifth graders attending the J.B. Sutton Elementary School. Now, three schools in the same school district were given shoes for their fifth grade students. However, if an individual would have told the fifteen-year-old me that one day this would be happening, I would have laughed because the challenges of providing shoes for one school were astronomical. It would entail that the shoe committee would need to raise $4,000, measure around 300 feet, and find a way to deliver all of the shoes to the children. Other challenges that arose over the years were the schools’ administration changing frequently and having to explain what our mission was and why we were providing the shoes. Furthermore, another dilemma was that the fifth grade students were regularly be absent, suspended, or relocate to a different school district, which inhibited the team from garnering proper shoe sizes and totals. Another exceedingly oppressing obstacle our team would face was dealing with a student who was wearing a shoe that was undersized. For instance, our compassion would compel us to ask why the child wasn’t wearing the proper shoe size and they would answer with chagrin because it would be due to their parents not being able to buy them a

The moment I saw that a kid who lived in an apartment with no electricity and only two pieces of furniture could be one of the happiest people I’ve ever met, was the moment I fell in love with community service. Being involved in the National Charity League has given me the opportunity to impact over 20 charities and make a difference in countless lives who were really struggling. However, out of all these volunteer opportunities that I’ve had, none have come close to the impact that this happy kid had on my life.

When I was a lot younger, walking to school seemed like a walk through the destitute walk of hunger and suffering. More often than not, I felt obligated to give something to these people having Undeserved experiences. As I walked, neatly dressed with ironed clothes, polished shoes, and white socks, I would see kids just like me who were supposed to be in school thinking about being doctors and lawyers but instead, found themselves selling so they can take care of their family's basic needs—My mother passed through similar experiences so I could really relate to their suffering having often heard about how demoralizing and painstaking these experiences can be to kids especially when they see their mates living a better life. I was passionate

An activity that I participate in after and before school is Boy Scouts. In this activity we do many things such as service projects and fun activities during meetings. I have been participating in Boy Scouts since sixth grade, during this time I have participated in many service projects. One example of a recent service project in which I have participated in is, a fellow Boy Scout’s Eagle project. An Eagle project is a service project that, an individual does as part of many requirements to earn the eagle scout rank. The project is organized and run by the scout with little to no help from adults or peers. At the Eagle project we helped renovate roadrunner food bank. More specifically we painted four walkin fridge/freezers, while cleaning

My daughter and I participated in collecting donations on the street today. Collected money will be donated to UNICEF, so before calling for donations, we learned a bit about UNICEF. My daughter was a little shocked at what was happening in poor countries. She let out her voice, and tried to collect money. At first she didn't call for out loud, but gradually she got used to calling for donation to people. I know taking part in collecting money requires courage, but she did a good job. I hope this would be a chance to get interested in poverty or eliminating disparities in the

This year in our Multimedia class at Norway, we are doing a project called 20% time. Basically every Friday we have the opportunity to work on this project that in some way helps our community and makes a difference. My friend and I teamed up together to pursue a project where we will be raising money and making blankets, and possibly buying winter clothing and other items for those in need. We will most likely be sending these to The Caring House, a domestic violence and sexual assault service where they house women and children who are victims of abuse.

As president of Mission Outreach, I am responsible in bringing awareness to the student body on specific events to raise money for the unfortunate people. The Mission Outreach club raises money to donate to Propagation of the Faith and soup kitchens. With various bake sales and donations, the school community collects money to give to the poor. Remarkably, this year the school community brought various food cans and turkeys for the Thanksgiving Food Drive. The donations were delivered to Saint Peters Church. Overall, the Mission Outreach club helped me be more aware of societal problems and allowed me to continue my passion for helping others in my

The first grade classroom at Putnam Elementary School that I am placed at is currently focused on a fairytales unit. The students had previously discussed the story elements of a fairytale which correlates with the standard RL1.3. This standard states: Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story using key details. My teacher referred to key details as story elements for this lesson. The students had also read Cinderella two days previous to my activity. The book I worked with is called Cinderquaker by Mike Thaler. This is a spin off story to Cinderella where the characters are various birds. This activity served similarly to a post assessment because we re-analyzed Cinderella and the differences