I Volunteered With Two Different Community Partners

At church, in addition to my participation in the worship services, I volunteered at our church’s soup kitchen, medical camps and elementary school for underprivileged children. These experiences opened my eyes to the deprivation of love and care in the world and a dire need of God’s grace for people at large so they could receive forgiveness, healing and restoration in their lives.

Serving others is a down deep way of learning more about yourself and helping others to see past themselves. Our Business and Professional Communication class participated in several service projects, which were interesting and exciting to be involved with helping others. As I am studying the major courses of Early Childhood/Special Education, our group project with the “Big Brothers Big Sister” program was very memorable to me. It was wonderful to have fun and participate in various activities with the kids. The environment was caring due to everyone helping each other accomplish different tasks. It was a great feeling to be able to share our time, talents, and hearts with the kids.

As a student, I have demonstrated many works of service to my community and school. Service opportunities have shaped me into the person I am today and these projects have made me realize how fortunate I am for all that I have. While I've been doing these service projects through the years, it has been a pleasure seeing the joy on the faces of people that aren't as fortunate as I am. Service projects that I have completed include managing the fish booth at the St. Leo's Parish Festival, being an altar server at St. Leo's Parish, helping cook dinner for the Ridgway Fire Department during carnival day setup, participating in the St. Marys Light Up Night by dancing, and Christmas caroling to local residents. I also participated in a zombie/princess

For my community service, I have been going to Lyndon B. Johnson Head Start Program, or LBJ. At LBJ, it is my responsibility to look after children and clean up after them. The teachers there set up many activities for the kids to work on, most of the time they finger paint. The teachers also set up small field trips. For example, we once went on a field trip to a house that had set up a pumpkin patch and many other activities for the kids. The house we went to wasn’t very far from LBJ. The children had so much fun choosing a pumpkin and playing different games, and I had fun helping them and taking care of them.

In the summer of 2014, I started as a volunteer tutor for the Youth Tutoring Program

The service learning activity that has been the most meaningful to me is the Backpack Program. Over the past four years, I have been involved with the Beta Club which is a big contributor to the program. The reason this activity is so meaningful to me is because if affects the peers in my schools who are in need. Every year we are told a story about a student who was receiving items from the program. One afternoon while selecting items, he picked some bananas and stated "My little sister will be exited about these. We have not had fresh fruit at house in over a year." Every time I here that story, it motivates me to help out my fellow Chase High Students. Not only do I bring food, but I bring necessities that someone would need to maintain

As a member of this group we are given a plethora of opportunities to serve the underprivileged. One of my experiences with community commitment included going to an elementary school and assisting faculty members with overgrown foliage and installing shelves in a supply room. In addition to the opportunities provided in HES I found service through the Christian organization, Cru at OSU. During my time with Cru I got the chance to travel to Indianapolis for IndyCC. During the conference, I participated in a day of outreach where a we would donate food boxes provided by local churches to underprivileged people in the city. One couple was gracious enough to invite my group into their home and share their life stories with us. It was an eye opening experience, revealing a secondary form of service, being in the present. Service doesn’t have to be tangible, it can be conversational as

This semester I chose to do my service learning at Volunteers of America, a nonprofit organization that provides affordable housing and other assistance services to low-income citizens. Within this organization I took care of the elderly, both the one’s with disabilities and the one’s without; I helped the staff with daily activities necessary to the organization which affect the residents’ health. Not only did I help with the organizations’ responsibilities but I also decorated the facility for different celebrations and shared time with the residents in the foundation. Some activities included table games, physical exercises, beauty treatments and reading.

Given the diverse nature of my community, I had the opportunity to volunteer with people from a variety of racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. For instance, I mentored a fourth grader who was experiencing behavioral problems in the classroom, having trouble with his schoolwork and

My first volunteer experience was at the Kaka’ako Homeless Shelter with Olivet Baptist Church. I have assisted with the preparation and distribution of nutritious home cooked meals to underprivileged families since the age of twelve. I was fortunate to be given this opportunity since it allowed me to witness the living conditions of low-income families. Having been exposed to this environment at a young age, my attitude towards individuals of lower socioeconomic status was unaffected by the discrimination these individuals face from society. I continue to enjoy volunteering and being a component

My latest service opportunity is at Buffalo Public School #6 where I volunteer as an after-school tutor with English as new language students. I consider this experience to be the most meaningful because I can relate it to my background and life experience. I was born in Sudan and came to Buffalo with my family in 2000 as a refugee. I attended the International school #45 where a majority of my classmates were also refugees and immigrants. I recall the difficulty of learning English and trying to keep up with the curriculum while not fully understanding the

During the peer interview, I had two partners, Ariana Barela and Jasmin Gonzales, to share and gain insight about our different service learning experiences. Ariana is volunteering and the Children’s Discovery museum in San Jose, where as Jasmin is volunteering

For my service learning, I was assigned to work for America Learns at an elementary school in Roxbury. America Learns works with students from kindergarten to third grade, the program is structured to offer both tutoring and an additional activity each session. The activity is intended to teach the children critical thinking skills, diversity and cultural awareness, and experiential learning, as well as help to improve basic reading skills. Twice a week each tutor works with a student through the entire program, both homework help, and the activity. The goal is that throughout the weeks of the program the tutor and student will build a relationship that benefits both parties involved.

I thought that service learning would be a great way to connect with the community while learning more about the environment. In ENVIR 239, I knew that I was going to be focusing on minimizing my footprint and aside from class assignments, I wanted to know what other hands-on activities I could do. Through the service learning, I actually feel like Beaven, “balance[ing] what negative impact [I] couldn’t eliminate with some sort of positive impact” (Beavan, 15). As Beaven would call it, this “environmental activism” has made me wonder what other activities I could do aside from composing and recycling. When I went to my first volunteer event, I was surprised to see the different age groups. There were kids and adults eager to get their hands dirty and do their part to minimize their footprint.

Engaging in community service provides students with the opportunity to become active members of their community and has a lasting, positive impact on society at large. This project has motivated me to become a leader and to continue the right future pathway on a bigger scale. Community service or volunteerism enables students to acquire life skills and knowledge, as well as provide a service to those who need it most. In my case, I was able to assist individuals with my creativity, knowledge and unique perspective. My top five community service includes volunteering at the Thomasville Head Start, Avante nursing home, Davidson County Senior Services, Fairgrove Family Resource Center, and volunteering at the Davidson County Transitional Services.