At the beginning of the semester my classmates and I were issued the assignment of essentially serving our community. The two ways I served my community were by volunteering to feed the homeless at various locations frequented by the homeless. At some point I was bit by the Community Service bug and also began volunteering at a second grade class at Revival Church in Menifee, CA. I have been involved with many organizations in the past that did community services but these two projects were completely independent of those.
This was a positive experience for me. Volunteering enabled me to feel less self centered. Personally, I find much of my personal identity in my professional life almost in a stereotypical masculine fashion. Stepping outside of my occupation was rewarding for me. There was no joy in seeing the homeless and I did appreciate the oppertunity I had to help them. Most people would be homeless if they lost their jobs or professions and I have never been one to say that could only happen to someone else so there was no distinction between those I helped and myself in that respect. Interestingly, with the homeless I saw the more they were treated with dignity by those serving them the more they began taking care of themselves. There was a difference in their grooming standards they set for themselves between the first time I served them and subsequent times.
Working with the children was fun. They are so joyful and it is awesome to watch them learn. I am also glad the churches still provide places for them to go and experience alternatives to unhealthy alternatives. Also, it was a little strange to see many of the parents were my age or close to my age.
Ultimately, I was energized by doing this project. It made me want to do other things that were on my "not doing this for money" list. My mother and I had always talked about volunteering at hospitals with infants that were born with aids and that is something I will most likely be my next volunteer experience. There also was a connection to community that this project cultivated. "Katy", who works at my favorite Starbucks haunt, goes to the church I volunteered at so that is an example of community connections and relationship cultivation. I was also amazed at how much time I really did have in my every day life for volunteer endeavors even while working and going to school full time.
The last segment of the assignment asks whether I would recommend my volunteer endeavors to other Sig students. Ultimately, each person is different so that would depend on what causes they feel passionate about. I have one friend in particular who volunteers only with animals because she is disgusted with humanity all together. I enjoyed my volunteer projects and would recommend them to anyone interested in humanitarian involvements.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Milestone 4 In My Service To Others Project
In addition to assisting with the original Feeding My Brother project I also took on the project of volunteering every other weekend at a local church for children in the third grade. My teachers have always played a significant role in my life and it is appropriate for me to contribute to the lives of others in the same way.
While the Feeding My Brother project is a little disheartening to see people suffer, the Sunday school class is a hopeful experience. It is for lack of a better word "cute" to see little people of all nationalities and backgrounds dressed up in their best clothes. It is also hopeful to see families still taking the time to try to teach their young a moral code and taking the time to bond together. I am not the teacher of the class I am just an assistant who has not been "knighted", or as the church calls it "badged" which enables the volunteers to accompany the kids to potty breaks and the sort. I am intentionally holding off on that. I would rather just take parts in the cute and fun part right now. The kids color and make crafts like paper air planes. They are uninhibited and enjoy dancing and playing. I have gone three times thus far. They are taught appropriate socializing skills such as how to politely raise hands instead of forcefully drawing attention to themselves. At the end of the class they get together and share their prayer requests in small groups. There are a few special needs children in the class. A few of the other teachers are parents who homeschool their children. The children appear to be a blank slate, oblivious to all the negative stories that we are bombarded with day after day on the news. The use of technology has also added an entirely new element to story telling. Weekly the children are exposed to stories with a negative antagonist and a faith filled protagonist. It is always a positive thing for them and me to see the protagonist always wins despite what the villain throws in his path.
One of my life's mentors has taught Sunday School for many years now. She always told me that she learns as much from the students as she teaches them. In both aspects of service that I took on this semester with feading the homeless as well as assisting with the church class I honestly say she knows what she is talking about. It is wrong to give with the expectation of receiving but there is a sense of satisfaction when contributing to the lives of others.
While the Feeding My Brother project is a little disheartening to see people suffer, the Sunday school class is a hopeful experience. It is for lack of a better word "cute" to see little people of all nationalities and backgrounds dressed up in their best clothes. It is also hopeful to see families still taking the time to try to teach their young a moral code and taking the time to bond together. I am not the teacher of the class I am just an assistant who has not been "knighted", or as the church calls it "badged" which enables the volunteers to accompany the kids to potty breaks and the sort. I am intentionally holding off on that. I would rather just take parts in the cute and fun part right now. The kids color and make crafts like paper air planes. They are uninhibited and enjoy dancing and playing. I have gone three times thus far. They are taught appropriate socializing skills such as how to politely raise hands instead of forcefully drawing attention to themselves. At the end of the class they get together and share their prayer requests in small groups. There are a few special needs children in the class. A few of the other teachers are parents who homeschool their children. The children appear to be a blank slate, oblivious to all the negative stories that we are bombarded with day after day on the news. The use of technology has also added an entirely new element to story telling. Weekly the children are exposed to stories with a negative antagonist and a faith filled protagonist. It is always a positive thing for them and me to see the protagonist always wins despite what the villain throws in his path.
One of my life's mentors has taught Sunday School for many years now. She always told me that she learns as much from the students as she teaches them. In both aspects of service that I took on this semester with feading the homeless as well as assisting with the church class I honestly say she knows what she is talking about. It is wrong to give with the expectation of receiving but there is a sense of satisfaction when contributing to the lives of others.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Step 3 In My Service to Others
The learning objectives that I found in the Syllabus that most closely related to my Service To Others project are the burden of living and working in a free society and oppertunity for all. Along with the advantages of living and working in a free society is the burden of ensuring others are taken care of as well as ourselves. There are many people who believe that homelessness is the choice of many of those who live on the streets. Some people believe the people who live on the street deserve to live there. This argument does not take into account the fact that the mentally ill are rarely institutionalized any more. Without the option of institutionalization, homelessness, is sometimes the only option. I saw the results of mental illness first hand while assisting with feeding the homeless. I did not feed the original demographic I intended to feed because representatives from the State of California had advised the group I went with to no longer feed in the San Bernardino County area without appropriate permits. We did not go to the original intended area. Instead we went to several local parks known for the homeless people and the prostitutes in Riverside County. In fact the area was a favorite scouting area for a serial killer who killed prostitutes about 10 years ago. I observed several mentally ill people talking to themselves at these parks and it quite frankly made me uncomfortable for the safety of the children that had accompanied us to assist with feeding the homeless.
The two readings from our text that best support the cause of my Service to Others project are Why America Needs Religion by William E. Simon, Jr. and Why Religoin Matters Even More: The Impact of Religious Practice on Social Stability by Patrick F. Fagan. As I stated before in earlier postings there is no predominant Church supporting this endeavor and yet it is being carried out by religious people. Both of these readings touched upon the fact that the power of the Church has been diminshed by the responsibility and power of the Federal Government. Needs that had been provided for in the past by the Church are now being provided for by secular institutions. And yet we are seeing that many peoples needs and desires are not being met despite the best efforts of government planners. In many cases the need has become too vast. Sometimes, maybe, the monetary needs are being met but the emotional needs are not being met. Therefore, it is appropriate for these practitioners of religion to help out in their community out of gratitude for their own needs being met.
Fagan, P. Why Religion Matters Even More: The Impact of Religious Practice on Social Stability. In E. Rauchut and K. Mason, Kirkpatrick signature series reader (pp339-357). Bellevue University Press.
Simon, W. (2000). Why America Needs Religion. In E. Rauchut and K. Mason, Kirkpatrick signature series reader (pp335-338). Bellevue, NE: Bellevue University Press.
The two readings from our text that best support the cause of my Service to Others project are Why America Needs Religion by William E. Simon, Jr. and Why Religoin Matters Even More: The Impact of Religious Practice on Social Stability by Patrick F. Fagan. As I stated before in earlier postings there is no predominant Church supporting this endeavor and yet it is being carried out by religious people. Both of these readings touched upon the fact that the power of the Church has been diminshed by the responsibility and power of the Federal Government. Needs that had been provided for in the past by the Church are now being provided for by secular institutions. And yet we are seeing that many peoples needs and desires are not being met despite the best efforts of government planners. In many cases the need has become too vast. Sometimes, maybe, the monetary needs are being met but the emotional needs are not being met. Therefore, it is appropriate for these practitioners of religion to help out in their community out of gratitude for their own needs being met.
Fagan, P. Why Religion Matters Even More: The Impact of Religious Practice on Social Stability. In E. Rauchut and K. Mason, Kirkpatrick signature series reader (pp339-357). Bellevue University Press.
Simon, W. (2000). Why America Needs Religion. In E. Rauchut and K. Mason, Kirkpatrick signature series reader (pp335-338). Bellevue, NE: Bellevue University Press.
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