STARA Class Assignment

Austin’s kindness and selflessness towards Chris has inspired me to help children in my community. In 2014, I contacted Make-A-Wish in Fresno, California to get involved. I organized a service project in conjunction with Make-A-Wish where fifteen of my peers from high school and I participated in a “send-off” of a Wish Kid to Disneyland. My peers and I made posters

Volunteering has taught me that there are many ways to contribute to the community and as small or large those contributions may be, they all make a difference. Volunteering also allows you to meet new people who share common interests as you and it unites people from diverse backgrounds to work together to give back to the community. Writing book reviews and contributing something so small, can have a great influence. Because I value reading and enjoy it as both a hobby that also has educational benefits, I take pride in knowing I am urging other young people to read and gain as much from it as I have. Taking part in the adopt a shelf program has taught me valuable organizational skills and also assists the library staff in keeping the library an organized and productive environment. By joining the interact club, I have gained a new sense of awareness, respect, and empathy for others in the community. Prior to joining interact, I was not aware of how many people around us are in need, and just how it easy it is to make a difference. By donating a bag of clothing or nonperishable foods to fundraisers, each individual can have significant impact on the lives of others in the community. My personal experiences and involvement in both interact and volunteering have shown me that it is crucial for everyone to give back to the community in order to make a difference, and has urged me to get involved and find more ways in which I can contribute to

While volunteering at Discovery Challenger I have exclusively worked with a blind man named Geno. My service to the Discovery Challenger Program has positively affected the community in that the athletes that required a helper were able to have me as one despite the limited number of volunteers who helped the athletes. Another community service I committed myself to while in high school was the club Life is Delicious. Life is Delicious is a club that between two and three times Year members of the club cook a warm meal at the high school, and then some go to the St. Vincent DePaul Homeless Shelter in Waterbury. At the end of my sophomore year I was named Co-President of the club. As a member of the club I went to all of the cooking and serving activities and was able to help the homeless of Waterbury by giving them a warm meal. The most impactful service I performed in my opinion was during my junior year when I was the organizer for the Penguin Plunge. During my junior year I thought that it would be a good idea for the basketball team to do the Penguin Plunge in order to raise money for Special Olympics Connecticut as I had done so in the previous two years. So, I approached the athletic director

After much thought about what I would want to for my volunteer project, I finally settled on the “Feed the Homeless” campaign organized by the Southwest Rotary Club of Las Vegas. This experience allowed me to work with the fantastic organization, Rotary International, and has given me the opportunity to better myself, both personally and professionally, through working with great people and overcoming the challenges presented to me.

Through volunteering I began to learn the struggles that plow my city, I learned about homelessness, climate change, and the high numbers of animals put down yearly. Through my service I got the chance to meet Harry Reid, Dina Titus, and other congressmen in Washington D.C. I learned to come out of my shell more and step up for others who aren’t heard and along the way I discovered my passion in life, helping

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 I have been blessed with many opportunities that helped me grow by pushing me to new limits, my volunteer work at South McKeel Academy through National Honor Society is my most memorable. The way I was brought upon this experience was not with the average vote. One morning I showed up to the 7 A.M. meeting ready to hear about how all

I have participated in the program Lunch Is Served, held at the First United Methodist Church in Sioux Falls. The goal of this program is to gather volunteers to pack lunches to aid the working poor, ultimately fixing the major hunger problem in Sioux Falls. I have attended this volunteer opportunity five times, and plan to volunteer again in the future. Essentially, those who participate pack as many brown paper bag lunches as possible in a streamlined fashion. Included in the bag is usually various nutritious snacks and a wrapped sandwich that will be given to those in need. My experiences there was very humbling, due to the fact that it made me realize the impact one person can have on the community. All it takes is a half hour of

In tenth grade, my English teacher posed the class with a question: what are you going to do for your community? She emphasized the importance of making a positive impact, even if it meant simply smiling as you hold the door open for someone. She prompted us to go out of our comfort zone and do something for our community. While I had been volunteering at Church and at school, I had never really taken a step out of my comfort zone. Instead of just helping out in, say, a soup kitchen, I decided that it was time

In my junior year of high school, I took a class called “Bigger Than You”, which allowed us students to create a non profit organization. The group I was part of founded and ran a non profit organization to provide relief to leprosy victims and orphans in India. We named our organization, “Touch the Untouchables” to symbolize the status of leprosy victims throughout the third world. They are not viewed as people at all, they are largely shunned by their communities. Leprosy victims are a forgotten people, so we took advantage of our great opportunity to provide some much needed aid to them. It was a sobering experience. Connecting myself to the lives of the impoverished lifted the veil shrouding my middle class existence from the adversity

For instance, spending time volunteering at the local food bank, the community health auxiliary, and the local Sikh Society chapter in my community. This interaction allowed me get a better understanding of those economically marginalized. Further, I was able to get a grasp of some of inequalities and disadvantages in our community in the aspect of health care and the importance of what change needed to occur those less privileged. These experiences inspired me to undertake more global pursuits as an international humanitarian volunteer in orphanages and community schools in

Volunteering to feed the homeless is truly an eye opening experience to what reality is. There is an estimated one hundred million homeless people in the world who are starving and are trying to find a way to survive. On a day-to-day basis, we see homeless people everywhere such as on the streets, by the freeway asking for money so they can feed themselves, or maybe even feed their own family. One day, my mom and I decided we had to take action after witnessing so many homeless people on the streets.When people are in such a difficult situation, their only option is to beg for money because they have no roof over their head, and no food to eat. Many of these people are suffering from their own decisions, unemployment, or for other personal reasons. There are many homeless people who are sick and suffering from severe mental illnesses. It breaks my heart seeing homeless people in the streets, so I knew I had to take action and help out someway. The experience of volunteering to feed the homeless was most certainly a life changing experience. It made me realize how grateful I am for my life, how important it is to help those in great need, and to never take a meal for granted or roof for granted. This event was one that happened in the spur of the moment but has also changed me as a a person by becoming more involved and helping out more in my community , learning to never taking anything for granted, and by not assuming all homeless people are bad people as such.

The summer of my 9th grade year started a passion that I will never be able to stop. For the first time in my life, my mom pushed me to volunteer at the food bank near my house. Furthermore, she was not working many hours that summer, so she was able to haul me over to the food bank and even volunteer alongside me. At first, volunteering was a chore. I had no desire or determination to get the work done. I was just a wandering worker accomplishing the tasks the manager told me to perform. Among these tasks was organizing food shelves and sorting food. However, one day, my perspective on volunteering at that food bank took a turn around. I was given the task to push out carts of food to people who were homeless, poor, and simply didn’t have

The moment I saw that a kid who lived in an apartment with no electricity and only two pieces of furniture could be one of the happiest people I’ve ever met, was the moment I fell in love with community service. Being involved in the National Charity League has given me the opportunity to impact over 20 charities and make a difference in countless lives who were really struggling. However, out of all these volunteer opportunities that I’ve had, none have come close to the impact that this happy kid had on my life.

Another meaningful experience that sticks out to me is when I regularly volunteered at a children’s homeless shelter in Roxbury, Mass. for two years, and was reminded of the fact that the statistics we hear every day about homelessness are real people – not just numbers. Every child I played alongside,