The organization that I volunteered for was Harvest House through the CCE program. “Harvest House is an intensive rehabilitative program which provides a variety of integrated and varied life skills training for its member” (Orgsync). Harvest house is a place for both men and women with severe and chronic mental illness are able to gain community support and participate in services that focus on facilitating appropriate socialization, adaptive coping skills, improving self-confidence, and learning how to live with their mental disability. The particular activity that I participated in was receiving donated clothes from designated areas and bringing the clothes to the men and women at the Harvest House. The individuals who participate are living in severe poverty; some receiving as little as $50 a month from the Harvest House organization and having no other income. Harvest House works with both its members and professional staff who provide food to the members and set up meetings for them to interact with each other. The donated clothing that we brought to them is very helpful because it can provide things such as a winter coat, a scarf, a warm hat, or many other articles of clothing that these people would not normally be able to afford.
• It was interesting for me to volunteer for this organization because I was able to see how difficult life can be for people who have mental disabilities.
• The individuals at this organization varied greatly in the severity of their
The National Honor Society is for high school seniors who have “demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, and character”. At John Marshall we really push the “service” area. There are so many different reason I wanted to be a part of NHS; It gives me satisfaction that I was able to become a member of such an elite society, it also is very rewarding to give back to a community that has done so much for me. Each service project I have volunteered at has taught me something different. Since July, I have volunteered at eleven different projects (over 32 hours), and I have learned something new every time. When I volunteered at the Marshall County Family Resource Network’s gift packaging for teenagers at Cameron High and Middle, Moundsville Middle, Sherrard Middle and John Marshall High Schools, I didn’t realize there were so many of my peers in need of simple hygiene products. It inspired me to help and give back to them by donating to Paws for a Cause at John
Marks Church, I have participated in numerous Pack-A-Thons with Feed the Hunger to provide food for people living in poverty. We pack hundreds of bags of food to be shipped to people in need. I participated in the 30 Hour Famine with Feed the Hunger. We raised about $16,000 for people living in poverty and did not eat for 30 hours straight.
While volunteering at Discovery Challenger I have exclusively worked with a blind man named Geno. My service to the Discovery Challenger Program has positively affected the community in that the athletes that required a helper were able to have me as one despite the limited number of volunteers who helped the athletes. Another community service I committed myself to while in high school was the club Life is Delicious. Life is Delicious is a club that between two and three times Year members of the club cook a warm meal at the high school, and then some go to the St. Vincent DePaul Homeless Shelter in Waterbury. At the end of my sophomore year I was named Co-President of the club. As a member of the club I went to all of the cooking and serving activities and was able to help the homeless of Waterbury by giving them a warm meal. The most impactful service I performed in my opinion was during my junior year when I was the organizer for the Penguin Plunge. During my junior year I thought that it would be a good idea for the basketball team to do the Penguin Plunge in order to raise money for Special Olympics Connecticut as I had done so in the previous two years. So, I approached the athletic director
Additionally, I volunteered with community programs focused on alleviating health care issues. For example, I worked with an organization that promotes community discourse on the unique, hidden health challenges of homeless and low-income women and girls. Not long after that, I volunteered at two events,
In ninth grade, my mother suggested that I volunteer with peers at my high school who are special needs. She thought it would be good for me to meet other people my age who have their unique struggles in school, much like myself. I protested originally, but little did I know I would love volunteering with my peers, regardless of their disability. During this time, I signed up to volunteer with a local organization called Buddy Ball. At Buddy Ball, I had the opportunity to teach children with disabilities ages five through twenty-one baseball. When I volunteered with my peers, I mainly saw high schoolers with severe autism, intellectual disabilities, and emotional disturbances, whereas with Buddy Ball most of the participants had severe autism, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy, or a multiple of disabilities. Both of these experiences allowed me to gain knowledge of a variety of special
We went to the store and bought toiletries, bread, peanut butter and jelly, water, juice boxes, and many other things to distribute to the homeless around town. These items were essentials that were desperately needed by these people, and the money we raised in order to get these items went a long way. We were very nervous about just walking up to people and passing these things out, the idea of a stranger coming up to you and handing you items is a scary thought in itself, but being on the other end is even scarier because you don’t know how others will react.
I remember my company had various volunteering activities for employees to volunteer there assistance in areas such as, the Meals on Wheels program or, helping at the local children’s hospital. I decided to volunteer my time and assistance at the “Meals on Wheels” program. “Meals on Wheels Association of American’ mission is to support senior with
During the break the volunteers asked us several questions. From what I gathered all of the volunteers also need the assistance of the pantry. Many asked us how they could help us, assuming we had fallen on hard times. I assured them they we were just there to help them and donate our time. Volunteers receive each goods in their boxes in return for their help.
The overview of the typical activities I participated in at the Bakersfield Homeless Center consisted of providing 3 nutritional meals a day for the individuals and families at the center. We also created a variety of lunches for those who were contracted to work outside the center. In addition, I help process the fresh food donations that are collected each day, plan and prepare meals, wash dishes and sanitize the kitchen. Furthermore, I participated in activities that were beneficial to my education and career goals behavior that involved interacting with the community. For example, creating a bond with the individuals provided a greater feeling of satisfaction by making a difference in that person’s life. Moreover, the families and
The organization heavily counts on volunteers to make its mission a reality. “Not only was it rewarding giving back but we also had the opportunity to learn about
During my sophomore year, the community service focus was helping to serve a marginalized community, so I chose to volunteer at an organization called Hope Services. They provide jobs for differently abled adults and an after-school program for differently abled kids, mostly adolescents. Each Friday, I assisted the program directors in making the kids feel comfortable and happy and like they had a friend. Whether it was helping get snacks, play basketball outside, make art projects, or play Just Dance, there were always laughs involved and it just felt like I was hanging out with my friends. However, when I first started volunteering, it was not this relaxed and did not come very easily. Many of the kids either had autism or Down’s syndrome along with some other disorders. It would be difficult to try and understand what they were saying at times, or they would be very clingy and have no sense of personal space. I did not mind this, but it took some getting used to. I learned that the best way to just be their friend was to truly listen to them, because they had so many great stories and ideas to tell,
The first part of this project involved picking somewhere to serve the community service hours, so to fulfill my community service requirement for this project I volunteered at the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop, which is a thrift shop in Roseville, CA. Upon my arrival, they took me to the back room where most of the other volunteers were. I witnessed people sorting through donations, cleaning donated dishes and sorting books. The manager said that I would be steaming clothes for the day. The shop volunteers steam every piece of clothing that makes it through the donation sorting process. They do this to ensure the utmost quality in their shop; all donations that do not make it through the sorting process get thrown into the goodwill bin. I learned that Goodwill pays the shop twenty-five dollars for every
I learned that there are 5 people with special needs working in the Champaign location, the only reason why there aren’t more is because Diane is the only one that is qualified to oversee and accommodate those with special needs. She also told us that contrary to popular thought those with special needs are sometimes at the same level or even better and more efficient workers than those that are fully abled. I also found out that despite Goodwill being all about servicing the community there are still many payments that the store needs to make, for example for rent and paying employee salaries. Students can learn a lot from doing community service and volunteering, for example, I learned that even an hour of someone’s time can make a huge impact in helping a greater cause. Diane was so thankful that we came to help the store and the employees seemed to also enjoy the fact that someone new was working with them. Volunteering can also help to broaden a person’s lens, you don’t really realize how fortunate you are until you see the conditions in which others have to shop. Diane told us that some volunteers that she has had in the past had to volunteer their time which they would later report back to organizations in order to receive food stamps. My experience at Goodwill was very rewarding and I was glad that I took time out of an average Saturday in order to make a larger impact on the Champaign
Having the opportunity to volunteer with organizations that work to enhance the lives of this demographic has been insightful, taught me a great deal, and changed my own perspective on life. It led to the realization of how different our
When people have a disability it is life changing for them. They cannot just flip a switch and turn it off; most times it is a permanent ordeal. Participating in this experience opened my eyes even more to specifically what disabled people go through on a daily basis.