Personal Narrative: Teen Service Day At Belle Isle

“You are part of a bigger family here, it is more than just CAT (Community Action for Teens). CPACS (Center for Pan-Asian Community Services) is also here to guide you and help not just you but your family as well,” Chris, our site-manager, informed me. I had been yearning for a supportive family that would help me as I approach adulthood and college. I joined one of their programs, the Cross Keys Sustainable Neighborhoods Initiative. They seek to improve the quality of life in our area, and I was happy to have joined their cause and turn our cluster into a more close-knit community. Additionally, I became an advocator through CAT by joining the Georgia Asian Pacific Islander Team Empowerment coalition that focuses on preventing substance abuse in my local community.

My community involvement started my Freshman year of High School when I began helping with the Miller Keystone blood drive. I was too young to donate but I did my part by helping sign others up. During my sophomore year it became more of a club and they trained us more so we could be a bigger help. I worked at the canteen, this continued up to this year. I have donated twice so far and plan to donate once more in May.

Over the summer, I volunteered at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond every Tuesday and Thursday for the month of July. The Children’s Hospital is a place where kids with severe mental and physical disabilities live because they are unable to stay at their own homes. Most of these children cannot talk and they need special equipment to help them breathe. I would describe this facility more as a home than a hospital because the nurses and volunteers at the hospital care treat and care for them as their own family.

The wind hit my face and caused my nose to resemble a raspberry. My hands are stiff and clumsy as I place another lid on a scalding cup of coffee. “Here you go!” I smiled. I handed the coffee off to a man who appeared much colder than me. The sky was the same shade as the pavement we all stood on. When I look to my right, I see numerous friends who are filled with joy as we work together toward a common cause. Then I glance to my left and observe the line with numerous homeless men, women, and children, all waiting to receive their lunch.

My parents have raised me to be a good Christian and to always practice my religion. Every Sunday my family and I would wake up eight in the morning, two hours earlier, and get ready for our ten o; clock mass. It was very routine and something I looked forward to all week. It was the only time when my family seemed to get along and behave civilized while we were all together, which was extremely rare to see. Driving a few miles from my house, we arrive at the same old parking lot every week. We rush into mass just seconds before the church bells ring and the choir stands to welcome the priest. Right before the priest blesses us to begin the mass, we find the same empty pew that seemed as if it was reserved specifically for my family for years. We sit and listen quietly to what my priest has

I went to the Waterbury Community Organization Fair because I have lived in Waterbury my whole life and have been a part of these organizations before. However, due to how expensive life is I had to drop out of those programs. As I got older it only got harder to get involved because I got a job. I always regretted not playing a bigger role in my community so I thought it would be a kick start to get me back in. Even though I was a child doing gymnastics in Girls Inc. and selling cookies for Girl Scouts before so it will not be exactly the same; I would still like to give back to the community and be a troop leader or something along those lines.

This past weekend I took a quick getaway with my best friend to London, On. I know it doesn't really sound all that special especially if you're from Southern Ontario, but it was rather quite exciting. We went to London to see the queen herself, Selena Gomez, live at her Revival Concert. She is beyond perfection, but we'll get to that later.

One of my biggest contribution as a teacher at Carver Dual Language is my involvement in our parent community events. I have always been a big advocate of creating parent involvement in our school. When I worked for Citizen Schools in Oakland, CA, I worked a lot with our teachers and Citizen Schools fellow to create family events and bring in resources to our school for our families. Through Citizen Schools, I was put in charge of running our Family Fellows program for Citizen Schools in California. I worked with our fellows to better support them in their role. When I moved to Kansas City and started working for Kansas City LINC (Local Investment Commission), I continued my work with families. During the school year 2012-13, I worked with Whitter’s Elementary parent liaison to create events

When I was just a 11 year old boy, I remember the dread that flowed through my body when my CCD teacher told us we needed to complete 15 hours of community service in order to pass the class and move towards confirmation. I went the whole entire year pushing it off, until finally, it was the final week before the hours were due. In that week, I crammed 15 hours of community service into a few days. Believe it or not, the 11 year old me did not learn from my mistakes, and the next 3 years I did the exact same thing. Finally, I was a freshman in highschool, and I decided it was finally time to step it up and be responsible. Now that I was 14, I had to complete 25 hours, but this year was going to be different. I decided that I was going to do

In a small village like Carey, Ohio, community means involvement in your area, caring for those around you, and sharing a second family. In Carey, we have several clubs and organizations to take part in, ranging from athletics, community service, and clubs that are purely about having fun and getting involved. While in high school I have been active in many of these beneficial programs. I am an active member in twelve programs we have here at Carey. These programs include band, Future Farmers of America (FFA), National Honor Society (NHS), student council, track and field, art club, spanish club, quiz bowl, musical, drama club, and the wrestling stats team. Being involved has opened so many doors for me and I have learned so much.

It was a late October day in 2002 and it was cold. Colder than usual during the fall. i was so hungry. I didn’t eat for days and the thought of food made my mouth water. i was sitting outside with my big brother Dillon. The sensory of my surroundings was not good. Trash filled our yard and the stench from the trash made it hard the breath. Everything was filled with neglect.

I’ve volunteered in my community in many ways. I’ve helped organizations, schools, and companies such as Day Kimball Healthcare, The Arc, Ellis Tech Open House, and the Thompson Trails Committee. I spent part of my 2015 and 2016 summer at Day Kimball. I performed tasks such as transporting patients, discharging patients, running errands for staff, and meeting/greeting patients. I also volunteered for The Ark. They had me set up tents, booths, and unload trucks for a car show in Putnam. Also during the summer, I volunteered for the Thompson Trails Committee. The committee had me clear out abandoned walking trails so they’d be fit for public use. The last community involvement I participated in was the Ellis Tech Open House in October

My family consists of a mom, dad, my twin sister, and I. My mom really isn’t in the picture anymore after an abusive relationship with my step dad. This has led to my dad getting full custody of my sister and I during 8th grade. My dad and I are really close as well as my sister. We have been through a lot which has brought our bond even closer. After what I have gone through I wouldn’t go back and change a single thing. It has formed me to be the person I am today. After a rocky upbringing my love for helping others has bloomed into a passion. Knowing how it feels to be going through a lot is the reason I began my ministry in Loganville. This passion has driven my educational choice and future career. I plan to pursue a degree in early childhood

There are many things that I can help improve the community or school. For an example I have made the community a better place by having an externship at Loma Linda University by representing my community and school at the same time. This program has made me become someone better because it gives me the chance to talk to people all around the world who comes and visit us to see what are we capable of. Biotech Requires hands on stuff and what makes it great is that we as a community come together to improve and make things more better. Another thing I did to help my community was that I collected unwanted can food from my family and my next door neighbors. When it came to the point that I had enough of food I went to the nearest park with my

Great moments are born from great opportunities. As a part of the Holy Cross family, we need to take every opportunity to help each other. This helping is also known as the service program in St. Francis High School. In the summer of 2013, I took an opportunity to experience the understanding of Holy Cross and Catholic. I joined the vacation bible camp and taught kids what is catholic or what we should do as a catholic. Those moments of my service program are indelible in my mind.