The site I volunteered at was Cradles to Crayons in Boston, MA. This group provides children up to age 12 that are living in low income and homeless situations, with essential items they may not be able obtain otherwise. This includes clothes, shoes, school supplies, toys, books, and more. This helps these children at home, in school, and at play. Their overall mission since being founded in 2002 is to give children in need the most important basics of life. Their approach revolves around the idea of people helping other people. Better off communities are paired up with poor communities and those who have spare items donate them, and they are given to those in need. When I first walked into this organization I was amazed with how big it was. I've only ever volunteered at small, local organizations so this was a bit out of my comfort zone. Despite how huge the building was, and how much stuff was spread throughout, everything …show more content…
Although I was not a part of this task, I did get a brief idea of what they did, and hopefully if I go back I will be able to help with this as well. Basically the members of this groups were given a list and a shopping cart and had to go through the sorted donations and find everything on their list. Then another group of volunteers took what the people gathered and put together personalized packages for the kids in need. Each box would be filled with a few outfits, a number of toys and books depending on their age, and school supplies. Before volunteering I thought that families in need would come in and shop though the sorted donations and pick out what they needed because this is generally what happened at the food and clothes pantry I used to volunteer at. But at Cradles to Crayons the volunteers put together kids personalized boxes and those are sent to social workers who are able to give the children that are signed up for the organization there box of items that they
I am very honored to have been part of this organization for the 2013-2014 school year and I plan to participate next year as well. At the end of the event I always feel so inspired and ready to make even more a difference in the lives of others, whether through volunteering, my future profession, or other organization at the University of Northern Iowa. I have learned so much from the Miracle Kiddos and their families, and plan to carry those life lessons with me as I pursue a career in the exercise/health science field.
For our project, Maddie, Payal, Shraddha, and I decided to volunteer with a group called Angel Arms located in Latrobe. Angel Arms is an organization that takes care and helps rehabilitate babies who were born addicted to drugs. At first, we assumed we would be working with their snuggler program which would have allowed us to hold and comfort these babies. However, with the opioid epidemic on the rise, a place was needed for their work to continue. Although a long way out, Angel Arms is restoring an old abandoned Victorian house to turn it a rehabilitation place for these babies. They just started the project a month back so our service project was doing a lot of moving of old furniture out of the house. We helped them organize what could
Volunteering for a poverty program, policy group, or community service organization is an experience that will educate oneself and endure an involvement with those who may be in need of assistance for a period of time. When deciding where I wanted to do my volunteer experience for the class I wanted to make sure that I found experience that I would learn from. There were a variety of places that I could choose from that were in the area. For my experience I chose to volunteer at a salvation army in my hometown Springfield, Oh. This is an organizational group that provides services to those who are poor in a variety of ways. The Salvation Army is an organization that has several different branches in various locations. This branch helps in a variety of ways by having summer camps for children, social service programs that offer assistance with topics such as bills, food, clothing, furniture and a variety of other resources. They also provide several different opportunities around Christmas to help with the different assistant groups that they have available.
...faith. Even though my friend lost his battle with esophageal cancer, he raised over $50,000 for the ACS with the help of our community, family, and friends. He wanted to repay ACS for what they did for him and wanted nothing more than to save someone else from what he was had to go through. ACS stayed by his side until the end giving him hope and support, and for that, I feel they are a remarkable organization.
We talked with various firemen, and they were overjoyed about our donation of roughly forty stuffed animals. On of the men from our church is a volunteer firefighter, and he led me over to the place where I was to place my animals. When it was time for me to give my favorite animal away, I kissed it and said a prayer for the lucky child who would receive my beloved animal. I placed it in the cubbyhole with the others in the truck and felt that I had accomplished something
We raised almost $2000 from just private donations. These are from local businesses to individuals. We sent letters to local businesses and I was getting phone calls day after day. These people wanted to support the Piggyback Foundation and this is how the awareness spreads. That is our goal, people need to know about this foundation, so they can give to them. Our individual donations were on a different level this year. We are blessed to have caring community members and this senior project would not be the same without them. At St. Paul, we have had many families helped by The Piggyback Foundation. My mother, Allison Smith explains “that is why it is important to educate our school and community how important it is to support this local foundation.” I am proud of what we could do for this awesome foundation and I give thanks to the community for so much
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.
While, we are not expected to provide everything, regardless, a little goes a long way. So, our hope is that, after today, we will be able to donate some of the items that we all take for granted, example, feminine products, baby products, cloths, blankets, foods, Toothbrushes/pastes, etc.. Also, I strongly believe that when we join together in the common good, we positively impact lives and give hope to the
One of the organizations that I volunteered at for the majority amount of time was the Hands of Hope Childcare Center. This organization is nonprofit and Christian based. Majority of the items that have are used at this childcare center has been donated from its local community. The childcare center is available to the Oakland County community. They service children who have been subjected to poverty and abuse. This organization also provide help to their parents by providing shelter.
Coming from an underfunded and unkept area can lead to a distaste for those more well-off and can lead to negative feelings about the community. By seeing these wonderful opening ceremonies of facilities and honoring those who are donating to the projects will allow for kids to value compassion and philanthropic ideals. Children learn from what they see and experience, they will be able to take the value of the experiences they received from these facilities and understand how they too should make an impact on their community when they are able to give
People can donate mittens,gloves, winter coats, winter hats, and other clothing a child would need during the winter months.
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.
I volunteered in an event for WACO, Woodfield Area Children's Organization, at the Elk Grove Walmart on Saturday, December 5th, 2015. The volunteers were given a child aged 4-7 and went shopping with their child for Christmas presents. The child picked out gifts for his or her mom, dad, brothers and/or sisters. Each child was provided with $75 to spend for the family which was a very generous amount. After shopping, more volunteers wrapped the gifts with pretty paper and put the family member's name on it. All of a child's gifts were placed in a bag and put on the bus that the child came on. Finally, the children received juice and cookies, said hi to Santa, and got back on the bus.
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 volunteered at East Parkside Nursing Home through my church 's mentoring program. At first, I was somewhat uncomfortable volunteering at a nursing home because my great-grandfather, among many others, was mistreated in a nursing home. But, as the day went on and we engaged in activities with the residents, I eventually calmed down and got into the smooth of things. We had one-on-one contact with the seniors, and we learned about their lives and families. One of the seniors was a veteran who fought in the Vietnam War and he told all of the volunteers a few short war stories. For several residents, their families rarely visited them, so they genuinely appreciated the volunteers spending time with them. Later, we made holiday cards and sang Christmas carols for the senior citizens. They seemed so elated and pleased, which made me feel so fulfilled that I could make someone 's day by doing something so