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.
No comments:
Post a Comment