I did my Senior Project with Ireland Miller, and together we worked with Logan’s Promise. Logan’s Promise is an organization that spreads awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving. It was formed when a drunk driver was driving the wrong way on University Parkway and hit a car, filled with three Reitz students, head on. Two were badly injured and my brother, Logan Brown, was killed. From that horrific event Logan’s Promise was formed.
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.
The organization, which I decided to volunteer two hours of my day to, was Cumac. Cumac is located in Paterson, New Jersey and they work to serve the people in the counties of Passaic, Paterson, and Northern New Jersey. They work with a staff of 21 and volunteers from all over to help people in need with food and supplies they would need to survive. Their mission statement is: “CUMAC feeds people and changes lives. It works to alleviate hunger and its root causes for those in need in Paterson, Passaic County, and northern New Jersey.”
President John F. Kennedy 55 years ago, during his inaugural address, called for Americans to serve their country with the powerful quote: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Since then, a million Americans have signed up for service through AmeriCorps. I can testify that data because I’m one in a million that is currently serving as an AmeriCorps member at City Year Washington D.C. The reason why I’m serving currently as a core member at City Year is because I believe that in order to change the world, you have to start from home.
My favorite act of service that I have ever done was through the school’s project based learning. I had heard that the NWC Men’s Basketball Team was building a house a Haitian family who’s house had collapsed with all their belongings. I then contacted the men’s basketball coach asking if my group and I could raise money to buy items for their house. We organized a traditional bake sale, as well as an online bake sale, to raise money for the family. In the midst of baking 40 dozen cookies and 38 dozen cupcakes, I was coordinating with a missionary in Haiti, Krisie Mompremier, who knew what the family needed most.
Besides my aspirations to study abroad, I hope to continue developing my passion for volunteering by leading an independent volunteering program for poverty-stricken families in my community at the College of Charleston. I intend to enhance not only myself, but my college and community by being a driven, involved
I volunteered through an organization called Feeding Many. As a volunteer, we planted community gardens where the food produced is donated for those struggling to afford their daily needs. In preparation for joining the NHS, I was an active member of the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) and accrued over 70 hours of volunteer time during my tenure. As a middle school student I volunteered as a leader for WEB (Where Everybody Belongs). WEB is a program that assigns a responsible leader/mentor for a group of incoming sixth graders to help them acclimate to their first year of middle school.
Assignment #2 - What does service mean to me? This is a concept that I have been considering in great detail. I have always loved doing community service and giving back to the community. However, I never thought of what my life would be like without community service. The definition of service based on the Oxford dictionary: "The action of helping or doing work for someone.
Volunteering should be done intrinsically. Many students find community service so difficult, time consuming, and not enjoyable. Therefore, they tend to only complete the required hours without any essential effort. To call mandatory community service 'volunteering ' is a problem because then we begin to confuse the distinction between an activity that is willingly done and something that is obligatory and perhaps not always rewarding. Volunteering should be something you choose to do because you want to do it, not because somebody made you do it.
Through the readings of the last week, I have learned a great deal about ‘Service Learning’. It is a combination of teaching and learning approach for teaching public health issues and improving health literacy. It is an integration of academic learning and community services to strengthen civic engagement. It is helpful in promoting cooperation, teamwork, civic responsibility, solving complex problems etc. (Service learning, 2016).
Volunteering is not an exclusively novel activity throughout the human history. During world war one, just in British there were 90,000 volunteers worked at home and abroad providing vital aid of caring for sick and wounded soldiers as recorded by British Red Cross. During wartime, no matter in which society there were people that spontaneously engaged in helping others in need. Volunteering does not only exist during the time of emergency or crisis, in fact it is always an indispensable resource for providing social service and improving our community.
I. For your information, volunteering is where, we are willing to do something without get any force from anyone else. II. Nowadays, young generation has realized that, being volunteering in any type of event it can give them a lot of benefit. A. According to my survey, half of my classmate had participated in volunteering services.
Volunteering is when you freely offer to do something without pay. In a person’s life, they have at least participated in community service one time. Whether it be working the concession stand at a ball game, picking up the mail for an elder, or even babysitting. For some people, volunteering helps them feel like they play an essential role while they are giving back to their community. Although volunteering is purely an act of kindness, it can also be very helpful in some people’s lives, such as making them feel like they are the difference makers.
Throughout high school, I have involved myself with various activities, both curricular and extracurricular. As a member of National Honor Society (NHS), I participate in numerous public service events. Some of which include volunteering at Springdale’s annual Strawberry Festival, Senior Citizen Brunch and Street Fair amongst a variety of school functions such as Education Celebration and our recent Job Fair. Through NHS, I also tutor other students in the High School as well as students of any age in the district at the Springdale Public Library. Outside from NHS, I have volunteered at a variety of places.
Community service does not only have a profound impact on our community, but the impact it has on the individual people is even greater. The concept of community service has always been something that I grew up with, and now that I am older I better understand how important community service is for society. I have participated in community service activities. Starting in elementary school, I helped feed the homeless and rescue animals. Even with my wide range of volunteer experience, it was difficult to find an activity that would be meaningful and fulfill my thirty-hour obligation for my senior project.
