“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”
― Barack Obama
It all started when I was in high-school. I volunteered at Helping Hands, Meals on Wheels, and Habitat for Humanity. These volunteering experiences opened my eyes to the needs of my community and the many opportunities for community service.
After high-school, I started volunteering with a variety of organizations. I was involved in projects and activities relating to peace, human rights, environment and HIV/AIDS. It was a great pleasure for me to contribute to the development of my community through volunteering. The impact I was making on my community was visible.
I encountered numerous obstacles while volunteering because many people don't value volunteer work. In my community, many people consider volunteering as waste of time. They cannot conceive of the fact that someone would work without receiving compensation. My friends and family advised me on several occasions to stop volunteering. I felt extremely discouraged at one point but I could not stop because I loved doing it. Volunteering was the top priority of my life. I decided to ignore their advice and concentrate on my work.
One day, a group of young people came to me and said they had something to say. I was very surprised. They said they were all grateful for the changes I brought into their lives. I was so happy to hear such a statement - it aroused a great joy in my heart. This experience has helped me to understand that when one focuses on what others think, it may be difficult to have a meaningful impact upon the lives of others.
There are three elements that permitted me to succeed in life through volunteering: passion, determination and patience. One cannot succeed in life overnight. We have to work hard to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
However, most of my volunteer work comes from outside of the school, such as; Pelotonia, Light the Night for leukemia and lymphoma, Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities, etc. For many of these organizations I have volunteered more than once. Volunteering at Light the Night has a story. For my 16th Birthday party, I wanted to have my friends and I volunteer for the day while having fun at night. So I had 7 boys and girls, along with me, volunteer for Light the Night, organized by me.
My senior year of high school alone, I completed over 160 hours of community service. Being a full-time student and a part-time worker, unfortunately does not allow for much spare time, but whenever I do have a chance, I always volunteer through my youth group in church. One of my biggest goals in life is being able to give back to the community on a much bigger scale. Ultimately, I hope to even go full circle and give scholarships to Hispanic student like me.
My community service has inspired me to help others through the field of nursing. I volunteer after school with my high school's Athletic Trainer at games, practices and other sporting events to help prevent and diagnose injuries for student athletes so there is less need to spend money on an E.R. or doctor visit for a simple sprain.
Growing up, my parents and other influential figures around me modelled the importance of community service through their continual volunteer work and dedication to improving the world around them. Whether it be participation in a well-attended project or persistent contribution to a helpful organization, those aforementioned individuals were formative in guiding me towards a path filled with opportunities for having an impact on my community.
I have participated in several volunteer opportunities as a Girl Scout, singing Christmas carols at a local hospital, picking up trash along the beach, working at a homeless shelter, leading events for younger Girl Scouts and much more. These opportunities have influenced me to become aware of the struggles within my
I went out to collect cans for the food shelter, I helped out at the bowling special olympics, and in December I volunteered to help set up a 5k races Autism, and the thing I took out of my volunteering experiences so far is that everyone has a story and to take the time to listen to others and connect with the world around you. In my experiences you can learn more serving people for an hour than you can learn in a week of classes. My only regret in my freshman year of college is that I didn’t figure out this sooner than I did.
Volunteering is a great way of giving support to one’s community because this can show that one will work for the
Volunteering to me is much more than just something I’m doing to build my resume, its something that I actually enjoy doing. In high school I was heavily involved in Key Club, an international service organization that promotes aiding others and student leadership. The collegiate version of Key Club is Circle K International (CKI), which is another Kiwanis sponsored organization; this organization advocates and performs community service at hundreds of campuses across the globe. I decided to join Circle K in college to continue evolving with an organization whose goal is to help develop community-minded leaders.
Creating a Beloved Community Imagine a happier community. Imagine a cleaner community. Imagine a community where less people live in poverty and more have what they need. These things can all become a reality. Our community can become a kinder, better place.
Volunteering enables a person to develop new skills that he or she would otherwise not have been able to develop. Unlike most other organizations, a charitable organization is happy to give positions to passionate, though inexperienced, individuals who desire to help others and benefit the community. Therefore, an individual with little experience in a field of work can gain meaningful skills that he or she can use in the future. For example, while I volunteered at the hospital this summer, I learned about the daily work lives and professional duties of doctors and nurses. Had I not volunteered, I would not have learned about these things. I was always interested in the medical field, but volunteering at the hospital let me explore my interests and en...
Volunteering benefits a person by building connections with peers, improving family life, expanding career skills, overcoming self doubt, having lasting life impressions, and creating new opportunities. Just a small act can make a huge difference in someone’s life. The future is dependent on the individual person and the people they surround themselves with. Just a few hours will change both the volunteer’s life and the one that is in need.
A reflection of my volunteering experience can be summarized in two words: Life-changing. It is hard to explain the feelings that occur when you involve yourself in selfless acts for your community, such as volunteering. There is a feeling in your heart that you cannot ignore, maybe it is the happiness you feel or the overflow of emotions in helping others. In other words, it is a feeling in which you want to share with others. Maybe with a friend, maybe a classmate, maybe a family member, or maybe even a stranger. Either way, spreading how life-changing volunteering can be is a great start to making a positive change in your community by simply by involving others.
Volunteering impacted my life by building my self-confidence, relationship skills, and social skills. Helping others and devoting my time to this organization supplied me with a sense of pride. I now know that I have the ability to accomplish a wide spectrum of tasks. Volunteering gave me a positive outlook on life. While doing so, I met numerous people whether they were patients, coworkers, or other volunteers. I learned how to share similar interests with others which created friendships. As relationships began forming, I felt an enormous amount of support. I ceased to be timid; my interaction with others strengthened.
I also had the privilege of helping with the Meals on Wheels non profit organization. My grandfather used to be a Meals on Wheels recipient and he would share with me how he enjoyed looking forward to their company and a hot meal daily. I volunteered because I wanted to give back and help someone else’s loved one in the same way. It was very rewarding delivering hot meals to people who didn’t have the means of getting one as well as being there for them to talk to. Overall, it was a very humbling experience, it made me realize just how blessed I am and how much I take for granted daily.
I used to hate community service. I only did it if it was a requirement for graduation or for a program. Even when I did community service, I still waited until the very last opportunity to do it. When I heard the words community service, all I could picture is cleaning Philadelphia parks or streets that were filled with trash in either the cold or heat. My mind always went to that space because that 's what my first few encounters with community service consisted of. My high school always had us cleaning something; one time we re-landscaped the parking lot of a homeless shelter. Another time, we cleaned up the weeds out of the loading docks of the non-profit food bank Philabundance. One time my mom made me volunteer