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Through the experience, I also gained a better understanding of service learning, volunteerism and community service while working with the food bank. I learned about the food banks purpose, mission and history and now have a much better understanding of the organization. In volunteering with the food bank, I was able to learn about food donations, distribution and the challenges in running an organization such as the one we were helping. Overall
Throughout my life, I have been quite active in several organizations. The first club I joined was the Hamlet Handy Helpers 4-H Club. As my project, I rented a farm and raised corn and soybeans with the goal to earn enough money to pay for my college education. I have learned a lot about business, finance, and agronomy through my 4-H projects. I have also learned how to confidently deliver speeches during the club meetings.
I am an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in Springfield, Massachusetts. In truth, I came here out of boredom and frustration. After struggling intensely with my mental health during my brief time in college, I made the decision to leave school and focus on getting better. In the meantime, I became a barista. The one redeeming quality of the job was interacting with members of my hometown community that I wouldn’t otherwise meet, and yet all the while I was yearning for something greater.
A volunteer experience of mine that comes to mind is one that is probably my most favorite volunteer experience yet. It is one that I get to do at my very own school called DUCK Week (Doing Unselfish Charities for Kids), which is a week long event that I have been a part of since I joined Piedmont Schools as a second grader. What makes this charity unique is that it focuses only on a member or a few members in our very own community, which is why we are able to be so successful with it. It is easier for someone to understand the need to help when it is someone that they may know. This small town in Oklahoma rallies around community members and together we raise funds to help those in need.
Throughout high school I have participated in many different activities and programs, but one of the opportunities I was given I will carry with me forever. As a junior at River Valley I participated in the Marion General Teen Volunteer Program. After interviewing and being placed in the physical therapy unit I took the opportunity to branch out into other areas of the hospital. I soon made my way to the labor and delivery floor where everyday a miracle happened. My duties while volunteering included assisting the nurses during hearing checks, changing diapers, and rocking crying infants in special care.
Volunteering time at church and school have become a major part of what I do. The youth group I belong to at St. Thomas UCC collects items and put together hygiene bags for the YWCA. For school, I often volunteer to help with the bands, working in the kitchen for Indoor Drumline shows and helping to set up the Craft Show. I also assist my classmates if they request it. If a student is absent, I will take responsibility to send them notes they may have missed in class, and also what they homework is so they can attempt to do it.
As a member of Key Club I was a strong contributor to the volunteer opportunities that arose, (i.e. Beach Cleanup, Trick or Treat for UNICEF). In my third year of high school, I became the secretary of the School Improvement Committee. As the secretary, I was responsible for making sure all of the meetings ran smoothly and were recorded for future use. Along with these club activities, I have volunteered for many of the teachers and staff in the school. Such activities included filing, running papers to classrooms, and helping out during school activities.
I love volunteering because even though you don't get money for helping someone, you get the joy and happiness of knowing you did something good for someone else. Being a member of Key Club and Junior Optimist I have the opportunity to volunteer frequently in the community and to the school. I have volunteered to work in various booths at the Glandorf Park Fest. I helped work at the YMCA Trunk or Treat to pass out candy to the little kids on Halloween. A group of my friends went over to Kalida to help with the Triathlon.
One service project I participated in was making goodie bags for the school
I have volunteered at the Catholic Worker House preparing and serving food. I have also served food at the Salvation Army. I have volunteered at the Cedar Valley United Way, helping them with stuff around the office. Outside of school service I help my grandma, who has had a stroke. I'm always there to help her clean and get around the house.
I do believe some of my talents are going unused at work. I am a very organized and dependent individual. I am a visual learner and I also incorporated learning by listening to leaders in higher authority handle problem cases, while there are finding a solution I usually shadow them that 's my way of cross-training. Meanwhile, if a similar problem occurs again I have gained the knowledge to utilize my problem-solving skills on my own. My strength as a leader and even having a better position at work is going unused at the time only because I don 't have a degree yet.
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.
In the first year, I was a part of a pioneering youth development team in Americorps NCCC Southwest Region. I worked with K-12 students in title one schools, Boys & Girls Clubs, Habitat for Humanity, local non-profit organizations, The Red Cross and The Salvation Army. I spent my second year working with underserved youth as a volunteer coordinator for Reading Partners in DC. I learned about the struggles that the students I worked with dealt with every day. I was also able to interact with parents and provide resources for education, housing, food, and nutrition.
A sense of accomplishment is invaluable to a person. Not only does a sense of accomplishment build confidence and faith in oneself, but it also allows one to reflect on how wonderful the journey to the accomplishment was, and how every little struggle and triumph was worth it. In the middle of summer, where time seems endless and the stress of the previous school year has been shed by students, I never expected to find out that I scored a five on both of the advanced placement exams I took. Nor did I have one-hundred percent confidence the goals we set as section leaders of the marching band would actually be met. Yet to my surprise, I had the good fortune of accomplishing challenging things in both aspects of my life.
My internship was with the Boys and Girls Club LeBron James Clubhouse. I worked with students from the Akron area that were in less than ideal home situations and I saw a huge need for a positive role model in their life that was dedicated to working towards helping them succeed and advocating for them and their needs. It was after my experiences at the Boys and Girls Club that I decided my next step would be to follow in my mother’s footsteps and become a school
