On Monday, October 12, 2015 I went with a group of girls to the Lone Tree Retirement Center to complete two hours of community service. We walked in thinking that we would be painting nails and playing games with the residents, but instead we were met at the door by Leon and instructed to paint parking spots. Leon led us outside to the materials and gave us the full instructions of how to complete our task. Our task consisted of four people the first person would scrape the old paint off, the second would broom the dirt and debris off, the third would roll the new paint onto the lines, and the fourth would push the paint cart. My job consisted of scraping the old paint and brooming the dirt off, so that new paint could be applied.
For my service leaning assignment, I volunteered at the Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival in support of the Montgomery County Food Bank receiving donations at the festival entrance. In volunteering at the event, I learned the differences in service learning, volunteerism and community service and will provide details in what I learned a about each. I will also provide details and examples of teamwork, communication and networking experiences gained while at the event. A brief overview of the Montgomery County Food bank will also be provided with information on the assignment task, measurable success and interaction with fellow students and organization directors.
In addition to the fair, our facility also provides utilization of the grounds for community functions on a year round basis. Some examples are the annual Fireworks Show, Run for the Wall, food drive during the fair (3,500 pounds of can goods collected), use of the parking lot for school bus driver training, use of the kitchen for our local 4-H groups to hold their annual BBQ fundraisers, Blue Grass Festival, FFA Awards Dinner, wedding receptions, the Palo Verde High School Homecoming dinner and the High School Prom. In the past six years the fair management has worked hard to raise money by applying for grants and establishing a nonprofit 501 (C)(3) foundation.
As the season ends for events, meetings with local volunteers and
It’s human nature to need to be a part of a community. Some people have their churches, some people have close-nit neighborhoods; I have my lacrosse team. I play varsity lacrosse at Rockford high school. Along with our routine of practicing and having games in the spring, we do many other activities to help the community that supports us. We volunteer to help set up whenever there is a fair in Rockford.
Would you like to donate materials to help us build a garden for Stone Canyon? Stone Canyon is a outdoor learning center and a summer camp. They have schools that come to Stone Canyon. They teach you about all sorts of things like nature,indians, pioneers and who used to live in Larkspur back in the old days. They would like to have a garden because a lot of people do not come there a lot so they would like to have a garden so people can buy some of the flowers and veggies, so more people come to Stone Canyon.
The most recent act of helping others is helping new Alpena High School student Lark Collins get to know her way around the school and become one of her very good friends. It
The gardens pride themselves in promoting community cooperation and togetherness. In this
Being SPL helped me so much during the planning process when I had to speak with several people to coordinate supplies, design plans, and schedule the project, not to mention organizing the 30 plus people who came to me help me complete my project. My Eagle Scout project benefited Interfaith of The Woodlands, a non-profit social service agency providing family and senior programs to people living in and near south Montgomery County. I did my project at a branch of Interfaith called Veggie Village, where this picture was taken. Veggie Village is a community garden that donates a portion of the fruit and vegetables they grow to the food pantry and several senior living communities. I wanted to add three additional hose bibs in the garden and I also wanted to add grab bars to a plot that a senior living center uses to make it safer and easier for them to garden.
In my freshman year, I made a choice to relinquish some of my social life and replace that time giving back to my community. I joined a non-profit organization called the Volunteer Corp. We spent our time at food banks, park clean-ups, and even hosting local events. This experience left a lasting impression on me in many ways; however, one experience changed my perspective on life and serve as a constant reminder of how the smallest contribution to others can be the most powerful. St. Joseph University, in Philadelphia, held an event called Hand in Hand. It was an event dedicated to raising awareness for people with physical and/or developmental disabilities.
Over the years, I have grown to be an increasingly active member of my community. I began in the sixth grade when I was a member of a local society called Students on a Mission, sponsored by my school. We did various things in the community around our school, such as, maintaining the vegetation and cleaning, and visiting the nearby nursing home. Outside of school, I worked in the community through my church. For a few years, on alternating Sundays, I visited the Heritage of Dover, and sang and interacted with the elderly there.
The activities allows children to obtain prosocial behavior, new subjects, and essential skills that could be used on a daily basis. The program
I love the outdoors and whenever I can we do our science activities outside and some of our art activities. I work towards developmentally appropriate practices in my program by supporting the children individually on skills they need help with. Also, work on helping all the children feel
Throughout my three years of being in St. Thomas Aquinas High School, I have participated in a few different acts of service. For every year in my high school career, I did service at my old elementary and middle school, All Saints Catholic School. During Presidents’ Day weekend, I provided help at their Church’s carnival for four days--Thursday to Sunday. All Saints Catholic School’s mission statement states “The Mission of All Saints Catholic School is to provide an atmosphere rich in the Catholic faith where each child is challenged to grow in a safe environment.
Generally, after school programs are ran by schools, faith-based, or community-based nonprofit organizations (Afterschool Programs: From Vision to Reality, 2004). Most programs are held directly after school, but can also be held on weekends, over breaks or vacations, or on evenings. It is important to define what the purpose of the program is going to be, whether it be academics, sports, special interests, or cultural activities. Some other key factors of an after school program are high levels of children involvement, a mix of academic and non academic skill building
