What I Learned From My Volunteering Experience

During my time volunteering at Wilmington Health and Rehab and The Woods at Holly Tree, I learned a lot from the experience by talking with the residents and observing. To be honest I was quite nervous when I started to volunteer. Although I’ve been to elder center before because of my grandmother, great grandmother, and volunteering with my church but, I was never around a big group of elder people I didn’t know. After my first day of volunteering I felt a lot more comfortable and it felt rewarding knowing I was able to help make their day. In this essay I will be discussing my experience, any myths or stereotypes that were presented, several theories, and any diversity I observed.

I also helped teaching them songs or rhymes, playing games, cleaning up toys and cleaning up snack time. I did not realize the fun and excitement involved helping daycare children. It made me even forget that so much goes into just helping them stay organized. In addition, I learned more for volunteering at a daycare. As much as it was important for me to make sure children remain safe as they go about their duties, I was required to know some basic first aid and CPR. I was very privileged when they opted to teach and demonstrate to me the process involved in CPR so that I could be able to assist children and staff in case of any emergency. The job as a volunteer at the daycare required listening to children, offering comfort when needed like when they were dropped off at school and they looked sad. Again, at the daycare I noticed that play time was an important aspect. I realized that playing time with children helped children share with others and also help with their feelings through developing verbal and nonverbal communication skills. As a volunteer, the staff gave me the opportunity to participate in activities with the kids such as helping them with arts and crafts, reading, writing, dancing, singing, and playing games. Play time indeed helped the children to develop confidence which brought them out of their comfort zone. I think play time at the daycare helps motor

As a volunteer practitioner in a nursery my role is very important part in encouraging play, though it is important to make sure the children are involved in choosing play opportunities. All the practitioners must make a lasting impression and connection on children and be aware of their interactions. Also I must model positive behaviour at all times, it is important that I build a relationship with the children to develop their trust. My roles are as a practitioner:

My experiences working with children officially began in 2012 when I started working for One of A Kind Progressive Early Education. I worked with children of all ages, primarily toddlers and preschoolers. While working at One of A Kind, I assisted the lead teachers as much as possible. I helped develop daily routines of activities, lesson plans, nap, and toilet-training times that seemed most effective for the students. I worked with parents during pick up and drop off times to make sure they were happy with the schedule and care their child was receiving. I was in charge of maintaining a safe environment for the students at One of A Kind.

To understand the importance of volunteering, I volunteered at one cultural event in San Antonio downtown. It was the festival of Diwali, a festival of light celebrate in India every year, organized by the San Antonio municipal and Indian Association. In San Antonio’s downtown we have a Riverwalk and the booth was on one side of river with the bleacher and on the other side was the stadium. Folk dances of India were performed on the stage. I volunteered at a booth of drink. My job was to sell soft drinks like coke for a dollar. I made a working there on the booth and we both had almost same interests due to that I was very surprised. There was also another booth next to us. I helped them to load, carry and organize their booth with food. This

Tina Pelletier is a Communications Officer at the Prince Albert Grand Council, which represents 12 First Nations in northern Saskatchewan. She is responsible for health promotions and communications in the area of Health and Social Development and has been actively involved in providing communications support to various Emergency Operations Centres created to deal with wildfires, oil spills and other health-related states of emergencies.

The Middle Tyger Community Center’s volunteer coordinator, Donna Dawkins, was very excited about my interest to volunteer with their This is My Child early education program. She was able to work me into the agency’s busy schedule and was also super understanding of my packed agenda and limited time. My first volunteer experience I spent in the one year old classroom. The teachers have a routine based schedule that is performed every day. Each student is to be dropped off, find their assign seat, eat breakfast, throw away their OWN trash, and then wait their turn for their health check. When their name is called, each of the children know what they are expected to do. He or she comes to the sink, brushes their teeth, and climbs up to the changing

There are many different options available for those who would like to assist and contribute to their community by volunteering. There are still many options locally in Idaho Falls, such as the Head Start Program, which provides nutrition, parent involvement, health, and even a quality education services to children and families in low-income homes.

Being involved in church my entire life has made the world hunger and economic poor situations to be brought to my attention several times. I had never really made an effort to do something about it besides the occasional gift basket we would send overseas. But then my friends at my church told me about a breadline in my area and how the experiences there have changed their outlook. This made me want to join and try it myself. I thought it was not only important for me to become a better person but, to help those in need.

Any previous experiences that I had working with children came from volunteering through Key Club in high school, the Extended Day Enrichment Program at J. J. Finley, and ReadingPals at United Way of North Central Florida. Some activities that I engaged in while volunteering includes designing and monitoring student activities; helping students with their homework or crafts; reading, re-reading, and discussing familiar books; and writing activities. Other experiences that I had came from babysitting for families and friends and interacting with the children in the Hmong community. These experiences consisted more of conversations and modeling social norms at events within the Hmong community.

Volunteerism positively reflects an individual's character, showing others of their benevolence and compassion. Organizations such as Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) as a whole is very community based, meaning we partake in and organize activities that positively affect the school, its students, and the rest of the community. As President of FCCLA, I participate in numerous community service and community awareness activities. FCCLA has done numerous community projects, such as food drives, coat drives, and toiletry drives, and eventually all of these items were given to the homeless whom we have also volunteered to feed. Moreover, the numerous volunteer opportunities that I have grasped have helped me to establish what career path I want to take in the future, nursing. Doing community service helped me realize that I want to spend my life helping others, doing things that could make a sick person’s day better and help them to stay positive as they heal.

I spent each day at the local daycare teaching curriculum English classes, an invaluable skill for job opportunities, and tending to the health of twenty children. Whether it was through tucking them in for naps, reading stories, feeding them nutritious meals, or simply making them smile, I aspired to build a heart-warming environment for the children to grow and learn. When I felt overwhelmed or tired, it was my connections with the children that kept me going. It was moving to see their happiness despite being surrounded by disease, high-poverty, drug-trafficking, and violence. Having a little sister, the same age, I greatly empathized with the children. While my sister had many dolls and kitchen set toys, the children shared just two old dolls and one kitchen set, created by an upside down cardboard box with concentric circles drawn on the top to represent a stove. It drew me closer to the children as I reflected on the importance of access to education, opportunities, and health care. Through their joys of laughter, eagerness to learn, and positivity, I learned that caring for people was

For my service learning experience, I had to volunteer at two places, due to some issues I had at one of the volunteer sites. Both sites served as a great learning experience to me and I really enjoyed what time I got to spend at each of the sites. Both sites were there to provide support to those who had some sort of disability and help them lead a more independent life. Each site did amazing work with their clients and I am exceptionally happy to see places like this in our community.

As of now, my mind is still open to considering the various specialties that medicine has to offer. It would be naïve of me to know the specialty I plan on obtaining before I have even begun my graduate medical education; however, I do have a mild interest in primary care. This interest stems from multiple experiences, but none more important than my time spent volunteering at Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center (PWFMC).

Chalk covered clothes, a missing flip-flop, children latched on to my legs, and a whole new perspective towards life was never expected, when I walked through the doors of a children’s day care for the first time in my life. Thinking it was just one of the many volunteering jobs I had to partake in, I only wanted to do my job right and efficiently. But from these two short days volunteering here, I learned new aspects about myself and the type of life I wanted to live.