Personal Narrative: My Experience Of Volunteering With Centre 55 Through Minga

This past summer, I acquired an internship at Baldwin and Lyons, an insurance company in Indianapolis. Every Wednesday during my internship, a couple of employees and I would participate in a prodigious community service project, Meals on Wheels. Throughout the three months that I worked at Baldwin and Lyons, I got acquainted with some of the individuals whom we delivered to. These inspiring individuals were so grateful and appreciative that we took time out of our day to volunteer to do such a service. One elderly woman who we delivered to would sing to us as she came to the front door “good meals, good meals, good meals.” She is one woman that I will never forget. First going into this, I was elated knowing I was I getting out of the

The gift that my group performed for the community of Juneau, Alaska is snow removal. The group consisted of my two most trustworthy peers Marcos Yadao and Mitchell Laudert. We all understood that living in a small tight knit town such as Juneau; the smallest of tasks can have the biggest impacts. That is when the light bulb in our intellectual brains and the idea of snow removal came to mind. It was an appropriate job for the winter season. With heavy snow flurries in the forecast, this would be an achievable accomplishment. With the service in mind our next step was to pick a location. We did not want to select the wealthy neighborhoods because the residents there would probably be financially able to pay for such services. The location that we settled on was not a poverty stricken area, but the homes consisted of elderly residence. To avoid complications with the occupants of the home and explain our reasoning for the free service we wanted to only do homes were the residence weren’t present. That did not hold up to a standard when we actually got around to carry out the service. The whole point of going out and helping people of Juneau with their snow blanketed driveways, walkways, and porches too was to gain self respect and also to prove to the world that good can come from anything and anywhere too.

We donated our time to a charity during the fall, the JROTC program decided to do the Mana Cafe to help those in need. It was a food drive and people would help gather food together to deliver it to families that needed it for the winter. Everyone was pitching together and doing their part to get the food together and in the people’s car. Even in the cold weather, everyone was having fun, knowing that they were doing excellent in their hearts. Therefore that day families were allowed to eat despite their economic struggle and all as a result of the service we did to help them.

For the past two years I have dedicated one Wednesday a month to going to Ronald McDonald House. While there, my peers and I would cook and serve a dinner for the families staying in the House. I loved the way it felt to give back to these families that had been going though such hard times with their children, so I decided to

The summer before high school, I decided it was time to get involved in the community. A close family friend who attended my church offered a volunteer position with her organization called Clothes to You that supplies low-income families with free attire. The non-profit organization resonated closely with me as my tribe, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, suffers from severe financial hardships, and realizing how life changing an organization such as this could be I promptly accepted her offer. On designated days we drove the mobile van to predetermined locations and transformed the desolate parking lot to a bustling shopping center. People of all ages filled the aisles and I assisted shoppers searching for outfits as varied as interview

Every Wednesday and Friday, I served with the Last Call 4 Grace ministry. I helped provide meals for people who barely have a roof over their heads. First, the other volunteers and I formed an assembly line. Then, we packed food in to go boxes. On Wednesday of the first week, we packed pizza and brownies. On Friday, we packed hot dogs, potato chips, and cookies. During the following week, we packed burritos for the first day and rice with broccoli for the second. In addition to the main meal, we also provided bread, Halloween candy, and other sweets.

Volunteering at Memorial Hermann transformed my life by teaching me lessons through small moments. One such instant occurred when I went to wheel an old lady visiting her husband. The lady and I conversed for many minutes about college, my future plans, and life in general. When we reached the lobby, the lady wished me luck in all my future endeavors. Coincidentally, I wheeled the lady several times after that and each time she would remember

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 have an amazing opportunity through my sister's employer, to volunteer to assist hospice patients on a regular basis. I volunteer to assist hospice patients and their families by offering compassionate companionship and assisting with errands. Hospice patent's needs are not always monetary but more often emotional support and companionship. Last year, for one of my projects, I volunteered to make Thanksgiving meal boxes and to deliver them to the home of the hospice patients. I, along with other volunteers, filled the boxes with traditional Thanksgiving meal ingredients including desserts that were donated by area businesses. It took us approximately four hours to fill almost one hundred boxes. After filling all of the boxes, I volunteered

The first time I ever delivered food to the needy during the holidays was that special time. I delivered food to the needy in a neighboring town called Worth and it was my father and I who made the deliveries of food directly to the families. We made a couple deliveries and it was going quick the day until we pull up to an apartment building with an eighty year-old woman on the third floor waiting for us. We unload the delivery to her and when I’m leaving she says to me “Young man you are truly making a difference in this community and world. God bless your soul”. Those words from eight grade winter break have stuck with me to this day. Those words not only made me feel a part of the community, but made me feel like a better person. Being connected to the community is important because it makes your house feel like a home that is protected because of its surroundings. Community is important in everyday life, but interactions with people different than myself is equally as

This took place in Los Angeles, where we handed out food for those in need. This service has left a deep impression on me because although these people

We assisted the parishioners of the church where we were being housed by helping them complete some of their own projects, including using heavy duty cleaning supplies to remove the mold in the kitchen, replacing the ceiling tiles and replacing the baseboards that had been removed for painting. At Memphis Union Mission we sorted donations of both toiletries and clothing that were to be given out to the homeless in the area. We separated items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner so they could be packaged up and disseminated to those in need. Once the sorting process was completed, we went downstairs to help the pastor serve lunch in their soup kitchen. When we were volunteering at the Refugee Empowerment center, we helped the children of immigrants complete their homework, many of whom were not fluent in the English language. Once their homework had been finished, we taught them a popular game called ninja. At Girls Incorporated we first helped the students to finish their homework and then played some volleyball and kickball with them, a gesture that was well

This past Sunday I volunteered at Special Olympics. It was my first time volunteering there beings I wasn’t able to make it last year, and it truly was inspiring. I honestly have never seen more determination, dedication, sportsmanship, and smiles packed into one place. My athlete buddy was in three events, which was the softball throw, the 100-meter dash, and the 4 x 100 relay, and I stuck with her from the first event all the way until the very last event of the day. It got to be pretty long, and we had to wait a while in between events, but the patience she had was incredible.

I organized a Christmas party for the 73 mentally disabled children in my school district. From organizing the games, getting sponsors for the children's gifts, cooking the food, and gathering volunteers, I learned the true meaning of giving

During a few of our classes we have learned about globalization, and a little bit more about the world we are currently in. This lesson entirely introduced me to the new problems that we are faced with today in current society. This lesson has impacted me a lot. I also learned how much donations and little actions can benefit everyone in every way. When we were putting away jackets I thought a while after about all the people who’d have something to wear this winter. The part was that they didn’t have to donate at all, but people continued to do so. It was the same with the food hamper, although we did not get many donations this year, people still had the thought to bring things in. No one was obligated to bring anything in at all, but merely encouraged. These small actions are going to be able to make others lives better.