The Resale Barn: A Community Analysis

In their stores, they also accept donations (in most stores not all.) on a section of their website you can check where the nearest “Donation Point” is to you if you wish to know.

My first day of summer vacation after 8th grade my sister informed me it was time to get a job. Reluctantly I followed her to the Tobin community center. The next thing i knew I was volunteering. I was taking care of kids, feeding them, taking them to the playground, setting them up for naps and organizing the facility. I realized if I can do this then I can work, it wasn't as hard as it seemed.

During my childhood, I would always want to help out with moving materials and fixing them. These brought me to volunteer at some bigger activities that require to sell and give to individuals. At my school’s concession stores, I sold products for a basketball game. While doing these

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

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.

Assisted young children between the grades of preschool to 8th grade in their education. I decided to volunteer because the children of today will be the children of the future and the more smart and educated they are the better they will be in the future. Another reason I helped was because it is hard for young children to adapt to the lifestyle of constantly moving from one place to another. Since their parents are migrants it can have a negative impact on them and their education. I remember one little girl is from Florida but every summer her parents move up to Michigan to work in the fields, but once the harvest is over they move back to Florida. She was behind in school and with the help of teachers and myself we motivated and helped her out so she was able to catch up. I really enjoyed volunteering the past two summers ago at the summer migrant program. If I had another opportunity to help I

Volunteering at the Laurel nursing home was an eye opener for me. I had done volunteer work before but the one that inspired me the most was for Laurel Nursing Home. As a group from AP Fatheree Vocational Tech Health Science class, we would go to the nursing home whenever they would allow us to come. At the nursing home, we would come up with games and activities to play with everyone such as: cards, bowling, family feud, and karoake. The best part about volunteering there was seeing the joy on their faces as we all walk in. Our presence meant more to them then we all would have expected especially for the ones who rarely got visitors. Being able to sit and listen to some of the stories they had to tell was a blessing. Although, I learned

I have volunteered our local chart choose around my neighborhood that have partnered up with the Houston food Bank . Once a month on a Saturday the Houston food Bank sends a truck full of food and the church distributes the food to people in need around the neighborhood. I along with others would work behind the scenes and package all the food into a box and prepare for it to be distributed. Volunteering for this cause was super fulfilling. Regardless the hot weather I would wear again I knew that it was going to such a good cause. Just imagining a family who would otherwise struggle to have a meal to eat would now have a whole feast f have a whole feast ready on their table for their families.

That meaningful time when I put my own needs behind me and worked toward the greater good was for my school Club Friends of Fisher House. This club works with the local fisher house in Tampa, Florida, as a club, we use our time to volunteer and raise money and collect items for the Fisher House. The Fisher House is a place for the loved ones of veterans to stay for free while the veterans are receiving treatment in the VA hospital. This club is the only such high school club in the united states thus the road that is being pioneered is a new one for many. Our club allows for the use of student time to be used to gain money for the comfort items that keep the Fisher house feeling like home to the many families that stay there annually. Joining this club has allowed for me to see how the house works and meet some of the families that are helped by the Fisher House.

By participating in the Juvenile Diabetes Walk and making sandwiches for the homeless, I learned about the importance of selflessness. Because there is no cure for diabetes yet, raising awareness and money for a cure is imperative. Knowing that I put those afflicted with a disease before myself and try to positively affect their lives in any way I can is truly a lovely feeling. I would get the same feeling when I would participate in the March of Dimes Walk, a walk for an organization dedicated to improving the lives of babies born prematurely. Preparing sandwiches for the homeless shifted my perspective.

I was talking to my grandma earlier and I told her my plan and how I was going to give the kids at Children’s Hospital blankets. She said that it was a good idea, but that the hospitals already have a lot of blankets and then she recommended making them for the elderly at Presbyterian Homes who are all one and stuck there. I thought that my grandma’s suggestion was a really good idea and I set a goal for myself to make blankets for Presbyterian Homes. I really enjoyed making the blanket and I learned a lot, and I am looking forward to doing it again tomorrow and this

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

The Target Corporation has risen in recent years to become a model of socially consciousness in the retail arena. It is truly a community-oriented organization. Since 1946, the company has followed a formal policy of giving 5% of all profits to local community organizations, charities and philanthropic causes (Target Annual Report, 2011). This amounts to nearly $4 million in weekly community support, complemented by several hundreds of thousands of hours of volunteer time by staff and team members.

Yup, that's right. For every purchase on our store we give back 10% of the total amount to the charity/foundation of our customers choice!

At the Camp Kerry Society boutique, I started as a volunteer in the back, processing and steaming clothing. One day, my supervisor asked me to help out with the front of the boutique to communicate with customers and raise awareness for the charity. This was an unfamiliar situation for me because I was accustomed to working in the back of the boutique, and I was not known to be a social person. In addition, I was immensely nervous because I had never been placed in a situation where I had been asked to engage and talk with so many people. Nevertheless, I took on the responsibility and pushed beyond my comfort zone, initiating conversations with people inside the boutique. I spoke with multiple customers and encouraged them to visit the society