Christopher Mccandless, an american hiker, once stated, “The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure”. I have always been passionate about exploring my community in a way where I can find people in need and provide help. Passion is important to me because it is the fuel for the body to produce the inner drive needed to seek out new life experiences and take action accordingly. I have the passion to learn more about the constantly changing careers in modern technology and the small ways I can give back to the community that raised me to become the person I am today. I am the most qualified for the Prairie Meadows Scholarship due to my overwhelming passion for my community and the technology that will continue to evolve with society. …show more content…
I have received a plethora of advice throughout the entirety of my life from parents, teachers, advisors, but the advice that sticks like glue in my memory is the advice of the residents of the Central Iowa Shelter & Services. During these opportunities to learn and giveback, I make meatloafs for the residents, and visit with my church group a few times throughout the year to prepare an evening meal. It is always a fun experience talking to the residents and hearing the stories they have to tell: sorrowful stories such as how dropping out of high school was the worst decision they could have made, and also inspirational stories of recovering from disaster and hardship to continue climbing the ladder back to success. It is the experience of sharing stories with the residents in the shelter that drives my passion for giving back to the less fortunate, and volunteering in general because my community is full of those who would gladly lend a hand to me within a time of
It is like a tag on a shirt that keeps bothering your tender skin, it is the reason why you rip the tag off and make your own choices while walking into the unknown land of the wilderness, striving for the adventure that has dire consequences if executed improperly. Walking the unknown land of Hades abyss might have taken the sensitive life of one man, but it was done in a blaze of glory with no regrets. This man of course is Christopher McCandless in the book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, which is based on a true story. In the book, McCandless strives for the cold Alaskan journey into the wild to satisfy his final thirst for the wilderness but tragedy strikes and it ends by him losing the most valuable thing to him, his life. Chris McCandless had exceptional reasons for vacating the life he lived which are also justified; he was also was not foolish for leaving that life and the outcome of his journey was a triumph and not a tragedy.
Many service projects have had an impact on my life, but the significant one is the time that our group put together Blessing Bags. The Blessing Bags were bags put together for homeless people. This project had an impact on my life because at one point in time, my family struggled. We did not have a stable home and we had to continue movie because of the living expenses. It is very difficult to buy many products that are needed for personal hygiene, especially if someone does not have a stable home. There are many people that live in the streets and it breaks my heart. Whenever I see homeless people, I give them what I can. Although my family did not become homeless, I could not imagine living in the streets without any food, clothing, or products
The lunch bell rung at full volume as the main doors flung open. I predicted that a herd of people will rush in like the water from a spill gate. But instead every person was a line; in fact it was a neat single filed line. Another thing I was astonished to see was to the fact that every single person I served to was superbly well mannered. It was the magical word of thank-you which left great remarks in my life and made my volunteering experience an enjoyable one. After the shift, I have come to realize that everything my family and friends have said about impoverished people was nothing but just a stereotype. In addition, I have self-discovered that volunteering is what I want to do on my spare time. The joy from making new friends, appreciated and making a difference in society was too meaningful to put in words. From then on, volunteering had become one of my most highly valued priorities. Whenever I have time to spare, I will go
There had never been and there would never be someone exactly like Chris McCandless. Chris has a middle class background and stands out from his peers because he believes that society restrains his independence. He leaves his past life and wanders America heading toward the lonely Alaskan wilderness to find who he really is. He discovers ways of moving to Alaska despite leaving behind all of his possessions and social status. Chris’s sincerity and integrity earn the respect of the people he meets. He inspires people leave behind their old life and explore the country by documenting his experiences. Chris loves to challenge himself and after succeeding academically he finds purpose through self deprivation. Chris chooses Alaska because its' remote location makes it a challenging journey and destination. By surviving with as little equipment as possible he shows that happiness does not depend on comfort. His books give him the strength to continue traveling and are what inspires him to live in isolation. Before Chris's life ends he shows his happiness and satisfaction with his decisions by leaving a message and a quote from Robinson Jeffers poem. Chris McCandless is a role model for a young generation.
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.
Volunteering at the food bank was an interesting experience. While I was working, I did have time to reflect on the things I was seeing. There were lots of observations to be made. The first thing that caught my eye was the type of people that were volunteering with us. While there was a both men and women helping.
I chose to do my service learning project at Feed My Starving Children. I chose this service learning project because I had prior knowledge and experience by doing it with my family and church. Feed My Starving Children has been a huge impact to those who have participated in this service experience because their mission is to pack meals that go to very hungry children around the world. Being from a single parent family, it is hard for us to not be concerned about where the money for food is coming from, yet we have food on our tables for everyday meals. Therefore, I can’t imagine what it is like for those who experience hunger.
I also recently volunteered at the Cleveland Food Bank by packing lunches for under privileged children and sorting non-perishable foods for those in need. Prior to participating in volunteer services for the day, we were required to watch a video that explains the purpose of the Cleveland Food Bank and why there is a need for continuous support. The Greater Cleveland Food Bank works to ensure that everyone in our communities has the nutritious food they need every day. The mission of the Cleveland Food Bank is to alleviate hunger by providing food and support to community organizations that feed the hungry. Many people depend on the support because of their financial situation, life changes, and possible mental or physical limitations. The Food Bank acts as a storage unit and distribution facility for smaller agencies and organizations such as schools, homeless shelters, churches, and day
People’s lives are changed every day by their actions and experiences. This past summer, I participated in a community service project, an experience that opened my eyes in many ways. I was a volunteer at the County Memorial Hospital. In my time as a volunteer at the hospital, I was able to meet patients and staff members from all over the world and learn about their life experiences. Listening to all of their stories has made me truly appreciate everything which I have.
It was the summer of 2013 when I was living with my grandparents and they told me about volunteering at the church. I didn’t know what they were talking about, so I took the initiative to go find out for myself that following Sunday. I was in the balcony on Sunday, when I heard the announcements saying we can volunteer for their hope food pantry. I was excited because it was going to be a chance where I can help other and get community service hours. Volunteering I began to think positive thoughts and telling myself “ I am doing a good deed”.
I have gained a better understanding of what circumstances force the majority of the shelter’s residents to seek them and what services they make available to these citizens. It is my firm belief that Charities change the lives of people in need every single day. Whether we donate money, items, food, time or prayers, even the smallest donations makes the biggest difference in our community. It is a sad reality for several of our neighbors that face homelessness everyday, and having these shelters is a constant reminder that homelessness or poverty can happen to anyone at any time. Most importantly, they also provide hope for the millions of Americans that desperately need
At the young age of ten, I had the privilege to occupy a homeless shelter that once was a hospital. It had eight floors, an abundance of beg bugs, and probably some ghost too. It made for a lovely haunted house during the month of October and my place of residence for about seven months that year. Looking from the outside in, people sometimes felt sorry for me because I had to live in a homeless shelter. Never would they ever think that is was actually one of the best times of my life and one of the most valuable experiences. It allowed me to grow significantly in many aspects of my life and I have become very
I went to the grocery store and got cases of water, bags of bread, and stuff to make the sandwiches. I had finished preparing the bags and each had granola bars, fruit, ham and cheese sandwiches, water, toothpaste, and other hygiene products. My dad and I had arrived outside the homeless shelter and were ready to pass the bags out as we saw the swarm of people. Hundreds maybe even thousands of people gathered sitting in what little shade there was. I knew we had a homeless problem, but not to this extent and the bags I had made were going to make little to no difference on the vast amount of people that had been sitting outside. I was a little disappointed at first to be completely honest because I was not prepared for that many people. If I would have known there would have been so many people I would have made more bags. We drove around the block planning on what we were going to do and saw some tents set up. My dad and I were curious as to what they were, so we got out the car and saw that these people had been giving people food and I walked up to them and asked if there was any way I could help them. These people in the tents were actually an organization called Open Arms Outreach and a few girls scouts. They gladly let us help and we brought a few cases of water and the bags I had made and helped pass them out. The organization Open Arms Outreach
I remember being told by one of the homeless individuals that he does not utilize any shelter options, only meals and donations, because the shelters are not a safe place to be. Recalling this, it made me think, that when offering these resources to our families, we really need to do our research properly. By completing this research, we will better aid our families in their time of need, but also make them more willing and accepting of the resources being offered.
When we first arrived at the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma on Monday, I remember feeling initially overwhelmed just by the scope of everything. The building was much larger than I anticipated, since I was expecting it to be more like the Food Pantry located in Iowa City. It was somewhat surreal to see so much food stored in one area, along with seeing a forklifts around just to take some materials around. The pace of service was much more intense than I was expecting as well. For the most part, our acts of service was fairly simple, such as putting labels on green beans cans or scribbling out scan codes on bread loafs.