Volunteering For Vets by Aislinn

Volunteering For Vets by Aislinn - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

For myself, volunteering seemed intimidating when I came into high school as a freshman. Where can I go, what can I do and for who? The first time I volunteered, I marched in my school band in a Memorial Day parade. We traveled to all the local towns and played "America the Beautiful" and other traditional songs while big fancy cars drove behind us. Every person from every house sat in lawn chairs by the road to watch us march. They held little American Flags and wore every piece of red, white, and blue jewelry they owned. Little children danced by the street and collected the candy thrown at them by the firemen in red firetrucks. We were approaching the town hall, where we stopped marching. We played the National Anthem, where a large crowd of people stood with their hands over their hearts. I watched veterans, some in wheel chairs, struggle to stand in attention. When the piece ended, 5 or 6 war veterans fired shot guns into the air. When I saw the veterans, men of all different ages, I was brought to tears. They seemed so happy to be able to make an appearance at this parade. This very moment inspired me to volunteer for veterans, and even helped me choose my future career as a physical therapist.
Not only have I participated in these parades every year since, but I have participated in various canned food, clothing, and toiletry drives for Veteran families in need. It is so important that we give back to families in need. For every four homeless people, one of them is a war veteran. Fifty percent of these homeless veterans have disabilities, and two thirds of them have problems with substance abuse. Every Christmas season there are soup kitchens near me, such as Hearts For The Homeless and FISH, open to feed the homeless. Some homeless vets spend their Christmases there. To some this may seem sad however the homeless vet is grateful for a warm bed to sleep in and a hot meal to eat. It is so wonderful for people to volunteer and give back to their communities.
The experiences I have had volunteering has lead me to choose physical therapy as a career. Many veterans lose limbs and the ability to carry out daily activities due to injury. Some of these functions can be restored through physical therapy. If a body part is lost, many choose to use prosthetic hands, arms, legs or feet. These can help with activities an individual might not be able to do otherwise. The use of prosthetics require training. Walking with a prosthetic would be like learning to walk for the first time all over again. Veterans with brain damage often need exercise to bring back coordination. Walking, talking, writing, and other similar activities might prove to be a challenge at first. Physical therapy is such a wonderful profession because it offers injured veterans an opportunity to not only improve their physical health, but to improve their quality of life.
Each and every veteran, male or female, young or old, has shown extreme bravery and leadership by serving our country. Serving changes the lives of veterans and their families forever. Volunteering for veterans is just one way you can help to make a difference, because vets deserve our respect and our thanks.