Reflection On Project Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for family, friends, and for everything we are fortunate to have. Sadly, there are families that do not have that and at Ramapo we take pride in donating our time to help the less fortunate. On Saturday, November 19, 2016, I, along with my Ramapo Baseball teammates, took part in the Thanksgiving Project Joy run by the SAAC Committee at Ramapo College. What I find most interesting is that every year the mood is upbeat and we meet other volunteers from different colleges, elementary schools and business around the area. Throughout the week, the players on the Ramapo Baseball team would go out and purchase food, toys, and other items with our own money to help fill the baskets. During this event, volunteers fill Thanksgiving baskets and

This may not have been a good highlight, nonetheless one I could not forget and the final result is in my opinion, it strengthened me. There are happier highlights about team building during Project Joy. I remember when I was a freshman on the Ramapo Baseball team, how difficult it was getting up early to make my way across campus to take part in Project Joy. Yet once I arrived at the Bradley Center, the older teammates told stories about how they also just wanted to stay back and sleep. They agreed that once they arrived at Lincoln Tech and saw the volunteers there, they felt great inside. And it was true. I knew volunteering was hard since I did a lot during high school and when you are younger, you tend not to want to give your time to others. What I learned from Project Joy and from my teammates is exactly what Socrates was trying to relate that goodness of one-self leads to wealth, even if that wealth isn’t physical money itself. That “wealth” is a feeling that will stay with you and surely one you can pass on to