Over the past summer I had the opportunity to go to Deep Impact in Shelby, North Carolina. Deep Impact is a mission camp that is run by The Baptist Men that gathers youth groups throughout the state to help the needy and to spread the Word of Jesus. There were different mission teams at the camp and I was placed on a construction team. On my construction team, we helped elderly and disabled people by building wheelchair ramps for them.The construction team had three supervisors, and they made the kids on the team do most of the work. We would do different kinds of work like digging out holes for posts, saw boarding, or screwing in decking boards. I really enjoyed this kind of work and it really made me feel good that when we finished, we were…
Having the luxury of great health and family, it can be difficult for me to see outside the realm of comfortability and see the daily hardships people experience. There are so many people without housing, stability, and monetary resources, and these people often find themselves wondering where they can find help and figure out what to do next during trying times. One place people can reach out for assistance is Ronald McDonald House Charities. The nonprofit provides housing and food for families with a critically ill child in the hospital. The forty-two room house aims to provide comfort and support for families living through their worst nightmare. The charity provides this support by its network of staff and volunteers who prepare food for…
Have you had any volunteer experiences and, if so, what did you like about participating? Give at least one example of what you liked. I have volunteered with Canterbury United Methodist Church on a mission trip and the Birmingham Zoo. When I volunteered with Canterbury, we went on a mission trip to Asheville, North Carolina for a week during the summer. I had the opportunity to travel to another city, in a different state, to help those who are less fortunate and live in harsh conditions. Seeing the harsh conditions that some people live in was very eye-opening for me because it really made me realize how fortunate, not only I, but the rest of my community is. I loved helping the people in Asheville because I knew that it is something they…
I volunteered at Texas Humane Heroes, a local animal welfare organization that gives a homeless dog or cat a chance of finding home. It is a nonprofit organization that benefits from the involvement of volunteers. This was a very unique experience because I got to work with a lot of different volunteers and staff members. There were different volunteering opportunities from foster volunteering to helping out around the place. I helped around the place with other volunteers. We cleaned the dog and cat cages and washed their bowls. It wasn’t fun to pick up their waste, but we got to play with the puppies and the kittens. We also had to greet customers and inform them about the cats and the dogs that they had up there. In the afternoon, we had to walk the dogs. So many volunteers and I, took the dogs out.…
We also found out what it was like to work hard, the afternoon we arrived, we worked about three to four hours, then the next day we put in about ten hours of work, and the next morning before we left the camp we worked another hour…
Success through struggle is a story of one young soldiers attempt at something great. Through the struggles that I endure in this story of my attempts of joining an elite military organization are a testament to Army Values and the warrior ethos. You will learn that even if you do not succeed at first you will find success in other avenues. This story is not for quitters it is for those who enjoy tales that show triumph of the mind, body, and spirit.…
A couple of years ago I got kicked out of my house. Homeless, I had literally no where to stay or anyone to turn to. I had never opened up to anyone about my home life situation. Due to my upbringing in a predominantly rich, christian neighborhood I didn’t feel like anyone would understand my abusive parents or try to help. When I got kicked out I was sure that was the end of the line for me.…
My family environment has influenced me a lot especially when my siblings were born. I am the oldest out of five, so I'm always look up to. I always had to make a good example and never show that I was scared. When my mom and stepdad had to work, I would take care of them until they came back while getting my schoolwork and practicing my instrument done too. I never really had a chance to be a kid, I always had to be a mother to my siblings. I would always wish for more time in the day for myself, Although watching them grow up from when they were small and started school for the first time made up for that loss time. I live up to a quote, "Be the master of your future, not the slave of your problems." My senior year I had to stop being…
I didn't grow up in the most conventional household. My parents both worked and we consistently had babysitters and nannies taking care of us most of my childhood. My mom was the “breadwinner” she had always made significantly more than my dad and there was really no reason for my dad to work in the first place, he really just did it because he loved it. As my 4 brothers and I got older it got progressively harder on my parents being away from home so much. When a job opportunity with less hours and a sizable amount of money came to my mom she was quick to consider it. She eventually made her decision, consulting my dad very little, she made the decision to move across the country to a place we all had never been to.…
I remember when they kicked us out. It was only a couple of weeks ago. We Indians were minding our own business when the troops first came. They dragged us out of our tents and sent us walking with only the clothes on our back. My family decided to go to the Oklahoma region along with our tribe. And so here we are, walking through forests, woods, and plains on The Trail of Tears, looking for our destination. We have been walking since, and our clothing can do nothing against the harsh rain, snow, and coldness.…
I believe, as humans, we take aspects of life for granted; It’s a fatal flaw we all possess. Many of us are healthy, naturally smart, and grow up in ideal environments, but there are also many who do not. I am privileged enough to have grown up in a well rounded environment, so I have this frequent need to help others. I feel I would be taking my life for granted if not using it to help others. My application would be incomplete if I could not express how helping others makes me, me.…
Shouts and laughter echo throughout the kitchen as my grandparents recount stories of growing up in Mexico as young adults. Everyone’s eyes light up with animation as family members contribute to the conversation while eating homemade tamales and menudo. At each of my family holiday gatherings, the dinner goes beyond the consumption of a home cooked meal. These family gatherings are very important to me and have contributed to who I am today.…
Each and everyday people walk the halls of this school. You see people walking on the streets in their neighborhood. They are all walking forward. Why? That is what is normal. We have been doing it this “normal” way since humans could walk. Baby's first learning to walk don't walk backwards do they? No, they are biologically programmed to move forward. I wanted the breaking of my norm to be obvious. What better way than to walk backwards and go “against the crowd”.…
I was involved in many service learning experiences all throughout highschool. I was on National Honors Society and we would ring bells for Salvation Army and adopt children around Christmas time. We often volunteered at schools to help watch children, while parents were receiving help in finding careers or when they were being helped in some other manner. However, my favorite service learning that I was involved in was helping coach Special Olympics. This service learning is one of the reasons I am becoming a teacher, and one of the main reasons why my focus is Special Education. I coached my team in soccer, basketball, and track. I loved every minute of it. I spent more time with those kids than I have with any other service learning combined. I coached them starting my sophomore year all the way until I left for college. It was hard leaving my team and I am upset that I cannot go back and see them more often. Service learning has made a huge impact on my life and is something that everyone should become involved with. When you find that one cause that you are passionate about helping with it can transform your life like it did…
In the United states there are 549,928 homeless on a given night. 355,212 of them were individuals, and 35,686 were unaccompanied homeless youth (Snapshot of Homelessness…