Service Work

Service Hours

            Over this past year I completed my service hours at a couple of places. I volunteered the majority of the time at the Houston Food Bank and then also volunteered some at the Emergency Aid Coalition.

            At the Houston Food Bank I made back pack buddies. Back pack buddies are bags with food and milk inside, and they are passed out to kids at school who otherwise would not eat over the weekend. One of the employees told us that over the course of the weekend the bag may have to support the whole family. When I heard that it really hit home because I have access to however much food I need whenever I need it. At the Emergency Aid Coalition I made sandwiches for the homeless. One of the ladies who volunteered there at a regular basis told me that the majority of the people who come to get sandwiches on a daily basis. The thought of eating a baloney everyday just made me so grateful for everything I have.

            I believe that through doing my service hours I have gained a greater appreciation for what it means to be a man for others. I have seen the struggles and hardships others go through on a daily basis and I am extremely thankful that I have been so blessed and have not had to go through that. I have also had a greater understand of the phrase to whom much is given much is expected. Since I have been so blessed I need to give back to my community. All the things I take for granted I will now start to appreciate because I now realize that the things I think are necessities are truly luxuries. I think that I will now try and give back more often and have a better attitude towards volunteering.

            This experience has impacted my belief system because I think service work is more important now. The first couple times I went to volunteer I was in sort of a bad mood, and I don’t want to be here mood. As I started to see the difference I was making and the cause I was contributing to was very important. I started to become excited to go volunteer it became fun and I was having a good time. I was going into volunteering with an open mind and I truly feel that helped me make a bigger impact.

             I enjoyed volunteering with my family because I think it brought us closer together, and really opened up all of our eyes about how truly blessed we are. We saw the difference we were making and how truly appreciative the people were. You do not volunteer to make yourself feel good or just because it is a school requirement. You volunteer to help those who are working extremely hard but just can’t seem to make ends meet and you are just trying to take one thing off their plate. At the Houston food bank they told us that 93% of the people they help are the working poor. The majority of the people they help are just going through a rough patch they aren’t just sitting at home and being lazy. I used to think that food banks just gave food to those people who do not work and I thought why should I help somebody who isn’t trying to help themselves? When I heard that the majority of the people help are the working poor that really changed my opinion of how important it is to help these food banks out. I think that was one of the main lessons my family learned while volunteering together.