Buddy Baseball Observation Report

From the various things I did to fulfill my required service hours, the most meaningful service I completed was through a program called Buddy Baseball. The Rockford park district in the summer organizes this program for the disabled children in the area so that they are able to participate in a sport. The park district runs this program to try and help the disabled children feel as though they have a more typical childhood. The kids have the opportunity to experience being on a team and playing with their friends without the aid of their parents, which the kids seldom get to experience. Because of this, I believe that this service best exemplifies the theme of the option for the poor and vulnerable.
While this teaching puts more emphasis

on the basic needs we need to help humans achieve for survival, such as food and shelter, I also believe that this social teaching means to help people achieve happiness. In talking to the parents, adult leaders, and generally observing the people in the program, it was evident that the weekly program was the highlight of these kids’ week. Each time I went into the baseball field waiting for my own player, I would see each of the kids running to the dugout to find their “buddy” with the biggest smile on their faces. There are few times when my heart would be as warm as when I would see these kids each week, who were elated to be playing baseball with their friends. Many of these kids have a major complication with their health that usually hinders their motor skills or their ability to pay attention. Because of this, most of the kids would not be able to participate in a sport through their school that was not specifically meant for kids with disabilities. By having this program, the kids have the opportunity to experience an aspect of childhood. This program gives them the ability to forget that they have some big hardships in their lives and simply let them play baseball. In short, this program
In the world, I generally see different services fulfilling the theme of the rights and responsibilities of the human person. Typically when a person thinks of service, their minds go to helping in a food pantry or in a soup kitchen for the poor. People typically do this service because they want to improve the lives of the people who are less fortunate. People help those in need because the value their right to life and their dignity as a person. As a community, we need to improve the lives of everyone within it, which also extends to those people who are homeless in that community. Through serving in a food pantry or in a soup kitchen, volunteers better the lives of the less fortunate by fulfilling their physiological needs, which is the first step to improving the less fortunates’ quality of life.
In the near future, I will be attending college to continue my education. I have learned through some research and through some current college students that there are a few sororities who put an emphasis on contributing to the community in many ways, one of them being through service. I have learned through my service at Boylan that particular service is more fulfilling than others. For example, I completed all of my service hours during my freshman year through the Discovery Center. While this service was fairly fun and easy, I did not feel as though I was making any sort of impact on my community. In the next 75 hours of service for Boylan, I volunteered alongside my nana primarily in the food pantry, the Ethnic Heritage Museum, and I concluded my senior year with Buddy Baseball. The feeling of fulfillment I have experienced through my service for Boylan gave me the desire to continue serving in my community in the future, in wherever that may be.