Personal Narrative: I Volunteer At My Local Salvation Army

By the way of introduction, I am Aleem Punja's cousin and he suggested I reach out to you to explore possible opportunities at the Children's Aid Society of Toronto.

As surprising as it may sound, I have been doing community service since the sixth grade and it is a new experience each time. It all began with a community clean up known as 'Keep McAllen Beautiful' as we got there everyone seemed excited to be there. It was beautiful to see such unity inside of my community, and I decided from then on that I would like continue helping out where it is needed. As I joined the National Honor Society my chances of providing my services increased, and I decided that I would assume a position of leadership when needed. I became the society's president, which allowed me to develop my time management skills, creativity, and efficiency. I organized an fundraiser for the hurricane Harvey disaster victims where all

One of my grandpa’s closest friends was a volunteer firefighter that happened to be visiting New York when it was attacked on September 1st. My grandpa’s friend was always the generous kind that taught my brothers and I many lessons, some being always help others in need and risks expand you. He had several examples of living by this himself, if he ever saw someone out on the street he’d offer money or if somebody at a grocery store could barely afford food for their young ones at home he’d always offer to help pay for them. By no means was he all about giving money, he always encouraged us boys to do the best we can and to follow our dreams. The morning of September 1st he was awoken by the screams of terror

Looking into her eyes, I realized that she was not as happy or as content with life as she showed herself to be. Beneath her sprightly demeanor, she hid her disappointment and loneliness.

Every day I wake up and drive through the beautiful town that I live in and I realize how much my community has helped me grow. I joined National Honor Society because I wanted to give back to my community and I wanted to prove how thankful I truly am. When I started my junior year of high school, there was a shooting at a local community college and my neighbor, friend, and teammate, was tragically killed in the shooting. The day after the shooting I promptly decided to donate blood to help the survivors, and ever since then I have been a part of every American Red Cross Blood Drive that South Umpqua has hosted. The shooting affected me so much, and it still does, and I realized that is when I wanted to help those in need; I wanted to donate

Over the course of a month, I dedicated time to volunteer with agencies that focus on providing safe and productive programs for children. Stop Child Abuse Now also known as SCAN, focuses on stopping/preventing child abuse in homes. This agency teams with many different agencies around Richmond to help parents and children coop and learn way to avoid situations of abuse. My duty for volunteering was teaming with Virginia Commonwealth University Health Services and making SCAN a known organization throughout Richmond community. VCU threw a wellness block party that included many different health services but also gave members of the community to learn and seek help with many different organizations that were there promoting their business or organization. I sat with one other girl and passed out flyers and contact information to those who were interested in the organizations. I explained to individuals what the program was about and the benefits of the program. I had one particular interaction with this young mother who explained she was in a situation where children were being abused and the authorities were notified and now she’s seeking counseling for her and the children involved. I and the other young lady volunteering with me were able to give her information on the program and also contact numbers to individuals that could help her situation. This young woman was very grateful and happy she found an organization that could assist her with her situation. From this

My passion for Human Services began while traveling in Asia, Mexico, and through different communities in our country. The most important lesson I learned whether overseas or here in the USA is compassion. Compassion and understanding for what is needed. Compassion for underprivileged people, the elderly, and most importantly the children. The one thing that has stayed constant with me since I started traveling with my family is that people need help.

Although I have thoroughly enjoyed the time spent in the classroom and around Grounds acquiring valuable knowledge, and sharing ideas with others in the UVa family, I find my involvement in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and the successful 20 Big Brothers Campaign, to be the endeavors I cherish most. With the multitude of activities that UVa offers on Grounds, one can become buffered and insulated from neighbors in the greater Charlottesville community. My role as a big brother takes me out of my “academical comfort zone” and provides an opportunity to contribute to the growth and development of one young, disadvantaged member of this community. Interacting with my special nine year-old allows me to gain new perspectives while positively

Jerry waves as he walks toward me, a cup of coffee in his hand. He looks cleaner than normal and wears a bright, broad smile. Today appears to be a good day for him. They weren’t always good days and sometimes it was hard to tell what sort of mood you’d be on the receiving end of. I have been running into Jerry off and on throughout the past couple of months that I have been working with the homeless outreach in my town. Sometimes what he said was meaningful and deep, with great clarity. Other times I could barely understand what he was talking about; it all came out as mumbles and gibberish.

I have always had an interest in helping others, which led me to join the National Charity League when I was in 7th grade and stayed until I graduated high school. It is a mother/daughter charity organization with that aims to help local philanthropies. Throughout my six years of involvement, I was able to volunteer at 19 different charitable organizations throughout the Coachella Valley. The philanthropies I predominantly worked with were the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission and Gilda’s Club. The Coachella Valley Rescue Mission is a shelter for the homeless and I predominately did two things for them, serving/cooking food and fundraising. Often, when I would serve food to the homeless, they would talk to me about their lives and how they ended

One time, when I was in El Salvador, my aunt had to go to a meeting with her husband. My grandma and my aunt work at a store inside the house. My aunt wanted someone to help my grandma work the store. no one wanted to help her out, so I volunteered to help her out. So my aunt left me and my grandma in charge of the store, so I went to the back because that’s where the store is at and helped my grandma sell some home necessities. (because that’s what we sell in there we also sell chips and food and stuff). My grandmas job was to get the money and my job was to get the stuff the people wanted. Working with my grandma was so fun cause she makes the funniest jokes and she's really nice

When it comes to failure, I do not think of them as failures, but as

I am Maria, director of the C-K9 Rescue a non-profit dog rescue. I am a local behaviorist/trainer where over 98% of her behavioral clients are rescued dogs. Many local rescues/shelters transport dogs from shelters without evaluation and those dogs are immediately adopted out or put into foster-based networks. This system can endanger dogs, families, and community who adopt these dogs. I have had clientele who have been severely bitten by many dogs as a result of inadequate or non-existent evaluations done on rescue dogs.

The damage was catastrophic and the town was closed to the public for several days. As soon as the roads were opened, I led a group of my teammates on the football team and contacted our coaches to organize a cleanup crew. The following day, most of the football team helped with relief efforts for several hours. Over the following days I made several more trips to this community to provide aid. Through my involvement, I was able to experience the overwhelming gratification that has come from knowing that I have helped several members of my community that were in dire need. This sense of togetherness has remained with me in everything I do and will continue to affect my actions and community involvement for the rest of my

I have been volunteering before I was old enough to know I was volunteering. As the youngest of four, I happily came along whenever my parents and siblings volunteered. But, community service is not just something I was taught to do; it is something I love to do. Today, I serve others in ways that are closer to my own heart. Serving people and animals “who don’t have a voice” has been and always will be central to who I am. I spent this summer raising awareness and funds for foster children, and I am excited to use those funds this November to personally decorate and deliver new duffel bags with supplies to foster children in my area. Additionally, I have loved dedicating my time to a local animal rescue where I have participated in animal