Helping the Less Fortunate Members of Society
Over the past five years I have participated in an organization called "Group Workcamps" through the St. Helena's / St. Mary's Parish. This experience has helped me to grow greatly personally and spiritually. Every year, a group from the church goes out to a small community to repair homes of the elderly, disabled or less fortunate. By participating in this group over the past five years, I have learned many traits including leadership, respect and empathy, as well as building wonderful friendships with others all over the country. Besides these, I have also learned valuable skills such as carpentry, budgeting, planning, and public speaking.
The Workcamp year begins in mid August, when the group for the year assembles for the first time. This is an introductory meeting for the new members and a recap of the previous year for the veterans. At this time we decide where to go the following summer, figure out what we will do for fund-raisers, and how much money we will need to raise over the next 10 to 12 months based upon how many people will be going.
Over the course of the next year or so, it is the responsibility of everyone involved to assist in the raising of the $6,000 or so that will be needed for us to pay for travel expenses, and have some left over in case of an emergency. In order for all of this to come together, everyone needs to take some responsibility in acquiring donations and sponsorships. Every member of our group needs to bring in at least $300 in personal sponsorships. However, since there are usually only around ten of us going, the other $3,000 doesn't just come out of nowhere. We rise before the sun to prepare pancakes for a breakfast in the church hall after Mass. We stand along Route 4 in a drizzling rain trying to convince people to let us wash their cars. We build bird feeders for fun and profit in a frigid shop. We spend sweltering June afternoons in the church parking lot nailing shingles to the roof of a shed we will sell. We present a slide show of last year's Workcamp to the congregation and request donations.
After a retreat and send-off Mass, the real test of our friendship begins.
His army won in moving into the outskirts of Moscow; but it was an empty victory. Cold and
Selecting to do my service learning at Harvest Hope Food Bank was a very impactful experience. This was so, because of the fact that I have never volunteered at a food bank until now. The organization was able to connect me with the required skills I will practice throughout my career as a professional social worker, therefore better preparing me for assisting clients who may be dependent on my services.
The battle of Stalingrad is argued to be one of the most significant strategizing battle for the Germans. If Germany had won Stalingrad there would have been no fight left for the Russians to have. Instead, Germany made a hasty decision to attack in order to prevent Russia from coming up with a strategy which put Germany at a disadvantage. By the end of Stalingrad the Russians had managed to push back the Germans and put them on the defensive. If Russia had lost in their battle against Nazi Germany the United States and Great Britain would have faced a much harsher fight against Nazi Germany. Some would even argue that it would have been next to impossible for America to win against Nazi
The dissension between Hilter and his generals was sparked at the beginning of the operation in July, and eventually grew stiff in September, with the bone of contention that the Stalingard, a city which carried no meaning in the early planning, little by little became the primary focus of the directives, overweighed the operations of German forces on other areas of the Eastern
...estern front. The USSR took advantage of there being fewer troops on the eastern front and pushed their way westward toward Germany. Eventually the USSR reach the heart of Germany and defeat them. Therefore, D-Day and the Battle of Normandy was an important turning point in the war because it made two war fronts which helped the USSR advance to Germany to end the war.
First, If you are interested in chairing either the Holiday Drive or Father-Daughter Dance, Monday at 5 PM is the deadline to sign-up. If you are not interested in being a chair, please sign-up for the event you would like to help plan by Thursday. Sign-up form is here.
During the late summer of 1942, Germany’s position in the Soviet Union appeared to be dominant. The Russian winter offensive in front of Moscow had succeeded in relieving the pressure on the capital but had failed to make any substantial gains beyond a few miles of breathing space. The Germans had managed to stabilize the situation, inflicting severe casualties on the Russians before opening their own offensive in southern Russia in the spring and summer of 1942. This offensive, like the initial attack on the Soviet Union, caught the Russians (who expected a second assault on Moscow) completely off guard. Germany’s success was immense, and by the end of July the Wehrmacht had reached the Caucasus Mountains and the Volga River, with the oil-rich cities of Astrakhan, Grozny, and Baku in its sights.
After a two year stalemate, both the Russians and Germans awaited major confrontations that would define the momentum for either side. Up until this point in the war, although the Germans had captured many European countries and were victoriously advancing with their keen tactics, such as the blitzkrieg and their cogent weapons, battles on the Eastern front seemed impossible to win. Upon a dismal loss at the Battle of Stalingrad earlier in 1943, German morale was greatly lowered and the German forces finally apprehended the strength of the Russian troops. The momentum would finally be settled with the decisive battle near the town of Kursk, a town on the Moscow-Rostov railway, in Southern Russia. The goal of the Battle of Kursk was to regain German morale and to pinch off a large salient in the Eastern front, which would make Russians much more vulnerable to German attack. Being such an important battle to the overall success of the Germans, they formulated several unique plans; however, due to the lack of good judgement, these plans were doomed from the very start.
The time would soon come for Hitler to seek out his revenge on the nation that delayed his imminent world domination. One year after the siege at Leningrad, Hitler’s once indestructible Axis power had begun to weaken. Hitler began to see his dream fading away. He realized that to maintain hope, he and his army must remain on the offensive, so he decided to go after his most glaring defeat, which was Russia.
...olitionist about the Zong massacre where 132 slaves were chained together and drowned in the ocean so the Zong's owners could collect the insurance money. Equiano tries to help poor blacks by making sure everything is ligit in the Sierra Leone expedition. Equiano also lobbies high officials to end slavery. For example, he writes to the queen telling her of tyranny in the West Indies and the oppression and cruelty exercised to the negroes there. He signs this letter Gustavus Vassa, the oppressed Ethiopian. After Equiano wrote his book he traveled throughout the British Isles giving speeches and denouncing slavery as an evil institution. I was surprised that Equiano didn't have a deep resentment and hatred toward all white people because of slavery and the way he was treated. Because of this and his relentless fight against slavery, Olaudah Equiano is a hero.
During the early stages of the war, most of Germany’s victories were because of the success of blitzkrieg, or lightening war. Blitzkrieg tactics emphasised mobility and the concentrated use of armour and air power to overwhelm an enemy. Blitzkrieg was especially successful in flat, open countryside and was supremely suited for the Polish campaign in 1939. It was with blitzkrieg, as well as Germany’s superior tactics, effective use of armour, airpower and modern equipment, plus with the support of the USSR that the Germans used to overwhelm Poland in only 5 weeks. Two days after the German troops entered Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Hitler did not want this because it was a distraction from his main aim, to attack the USSR.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a major event in U.S History that almost led to nuclear destruction. It was over a period of thirteen days in which diplomats from the U.S and the Soviet Union were trying to reach a peaceful resolution so that they wouldn’t have to engage in physical warfare. The crisis was the hallmark of the Cold War era which lasted from the 1950’s to the late 1980’s. The Cold War was a power struggle between the U.S and Soviet Union in which the two nations had a massive arms race to become the strongest military force. The U.S considered Communism to be an opposing political entity, and therefore branded them as enemies. Khrushchev’s antagonistic view of Americans also played a big role in the conflict. The Cold War tensions, coupled with a political shift in Cuba eventually lead to the military struggle known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the point of most tension and near collapse causing the Cold War to almost shift from a passive and underground struggle to a violent and catastrophic one.
As you can see, Adolf Hitler is one of the most influential figures of the 20th century because he killed millions of Jews trying to perfect humanity through the Holocaust, his reign and military leadership of Germany lead to World War II, and his efforts of world domination influenced history forever. Used brutal methods to wipe out the jews. Used his military power to start WWI. His efforts lead to many changes that still influence our world today. Outcomes from the war still exist today such as the controversy in Israel, the creation of the United Nations, and the awareness towards protecting people’s rights. Hitler’s reign of power in Germany resulted in many horrific incidents; but we used his actions as a way to better our world by preventing people like him from coming into power.
On June 22, 1941, the world’s biggest military, which is Barbarossa Operation, was beginning. Barbarossa is the code name German used in World War II to invade the Soviet Union. Hitler who was the German Führer sent his army across the borders of the Soviet Union, starting nearly 4 years of the most violent and cruel conflict humanity has ever experienced. His army was divided in three groups which was the army group North, led by von Leeb, Von Bock commanded the Centre group army and Von Rundstedt led the south group army ( The Biggest Military Adventure in History, 2011).. They breached Russia on a front spreading from the Baltic Coast to the Black Sea. On The Führer’s instructions, one and a half million soldiers of the Wehrmacht destroyed
Another service that I have done has been to volunteer at the West Campus Hospital gift shop. It was a great experience for me; if I had the time I would make the effort to volunteer again. For people that is good at socializing with others and love organizing I would recommend volunteering at the gift shop.