Personal Narrative: My Experience At The Mary-Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center

In the course of my time at Union County College, I was able to participate in measures that aided my community and those in need. I took part in the donation and creation of care bags which were donated to the Salvation Army. This initiative was made by AESNJ as part of their statewide drive to help those who lack the resources needed to obtain day to day necessities such as hygienic supplies, socks, tissues and other essentials. Additionally, I made a financial contribution which went towards aiding Syrian children. Helping individuals in need encouraged me to participate in Strides against Breast Cancer a walkathon which generated money for women whose lives were impacted by cancer. The financial donations assisted women who were unable

While the service trip took place in the Northern US, there were pre-determined requirements that had to be met before we could embark, one of which was a minimum fundraised amount of $500. The money that was raised by this program went towards scholarships for other Kentucky residents to attend YMCA Conferences, where they have the chance to learn about democracy, kinship, and our community. I count this as community service because the YMCA changed my life by transforming an academic student into a servant leader. Providing the chance for someone else to be shaped into one of tomorrow's leaders is doing a service to my community. The third tier of my service goes towards the United States of America. An example of my service to America has already been noted in my ten day service trip to northern states where I helped shelve books with my peers and kinfolk who had fallen into unfortunate circumstances as well as re-vitalise YMCA Camp Y-Owasco through mulching over 5 miles of trails; however, a lesser noted service that many young adults seek is education. I firmly believe that the education of forthcoming generations is one of the greatest services that can be done for our

Last May, I traveled with Alternative Breaks to New York for community service. During this service, I worked with Meals on Wheels who dedicate their time to provide food for the elderly of Manhattan. As I delivered the food to the seniors, I got a sense of fulfillment because I made them smile by providing them with food. Thus, I chose MDC’s Single Stop because I wanted to make a difference in my home campus by providing and assuring nourishment to those that do not have it just like I did in New York. As my first two years of college comes to an end, I wanted to leave a mark of my own here at home at Miami Dade College North Campus. During the month of September, I decided to partner up with a few of my peers to serve at MDC’s Single Stop.

“We are Chicago's Jesuit Catholic university - a diverse community seeking God in all things and working to expand knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice, and faith.” In attempt to fulfill this mission as a student of Loyola University of Chicago, I decided to volunteer at the Lakeview Pantry. Personally, I believe that this was the most efficient way to effectively volunteer while being myself. I aim to either cultivate or participate in physical change, and at Lakeview, I could.

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

Taking time to volunteer at the many nonprofit organizations, homeless shelters, advocacy centers, philanthropic fundraisers, local schools and child care facilities in the inner city is not always at the forefront of young people’s minds while navigating through their college experiences. But, with a little push from student organizations, local nonprofits and passionate individuals, volunteerism and community change can start to take a front seat and become not just an opportunity, but also a priority in the lives of young people.

Through Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity in law school, I have volunteered at the Habitat Restore in St. Louis cleaning up and organizing the merchandise. In undergraduate school, I volunteered almost monthly at the Habitat Restore in Champaign, IL through the University of Illinois Habitat for Humanity. I was heavily involved in the organization as a general member and as a member of the construction committee. As a construction committee member, I scheduled students for build days and delegated tasks at the worksites. I also helped plan the Spikin’ for Homes Volleyball Fundraising Tournament and a Trick or Treat for Change Fundraiser for Halloween. As a general member, I participated in builds and worked sconcession stands for Illini football

I have to admit I was a little nervous before I went volunteer at New Hope Tulsa. When I was nineteen I spent the summer working as a school age child care worker, in a neighborhood where many of the children were at-risk youth. I remember crying every night before bed because I did not want to go to work the next day. They treated me so badly and did not listen at all. It was very stressful to me and I did not know how to handle it. As apprehensive as I was to start volunteering, I was also excited. Yes, in the past I had a hard time, but I’ve also grown and learned so much since then. It was also helpfully that New Hope provided such an extensive orientation and trained on many aspects, including effective discipline. So, by the time I spent

When I first arrived at the University of Michigan, I was pleasantly surprised to find out the first service event we were doing was invasive species management in the Huron watershed. Cutting down buckthorn and picking invasive species seeds were both activities very familiar to me. Growing up in Chicago, my middle and elementary school had done nearly the exact same thing every year in the Chicago River watershed. Going out into the woods and helping the often forgotten organic parts of our community was certainly a pleasant surprise for me. I initially thought going to college that almost everything I would be experiencing would be new and exciting, yet here I was coming full circle right back to where I had first started learning about community involvement. More often than not, our expectations of things do not match their true forms.

During college I searched for different volunteer opportunities; however, it wasn’t until my second semester of college that I became involved with the non-profit organization, Reading Partners. This program was conveniently located near the

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

For my service learning, I volunteered with two different community partners. The first service learning area I volunteered in was connecting with children at shelter and help work on a beautification project at the Miami Bridge Shelter. Miami Bridge is a Miami-Dade shelter for children who are victims of human trafficking, drug dealers, runaways, and abandoned youths which delivers them a fostering and supportive environment. They reconnect the youth ages from seven to seventeen with educational, social and job-related opportunities. While at Miami Bridge, a group of us from Barry had to paint the children’s bathrooms over with a different color such as purple for the girls and a cream color for the boys. After that, we had a task with the kids to pick up rocks in the sand with shovels because the shelter plans on making a play area there.

Today for my service learning project I headed over to Pulaski County to volunteer with the Habitat for Humanity to help build houses. The trip to Pulaski took about forty-five minutes as the I-81 was calm. Upon arriving at the work site, I took it upon myself to get acquainted with the supervisor currently present. Although, I was unable to locate the supervisor immediately, someone working at the site instructed me to fill out a wavier before I could be assigned any duties. After all that was said and done, I was instructed by a fellow volunteer to pick up a tool belt, some nails and a hammer. The first task that was asked of me was to hammer in some nails on the frame of the house. This task was simple as the places where I needed to hammer were clearly marked. The

I am a part of many different clubs/organizations this year. Inside of school, I am in Chorus, Soccer Intramurals, scenery crew/stage (for the musical), Chimes, and I plan on joining the track team/trying out for the variety show. Outside of school I am an altar server, a volunteer sacramental educator, and over the Summer I am going to be a junior counselor at a camp in Bridgeport. I ardor all of these activities and will definitely continue to work with these groups after school is over.

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