Service That Lasts a Generation by Andrea

Service That Lasts a Generation by Andrea - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

I’ve been volunteering in places meant to help children learn and grow since I was in middle school. I love children and find supporting them in any a major factor of how they'll grow up. I used to do so in summer camps and local art classes only for the fun of it, or simply to lend a helping hand where it was needed. However, now as an adult, my purpose has changed. Throughout my journey of helping kids in different learning institutions, I understood how much power we have to determine the direction in which a child’s self esteem and view of the world around them will be headed. When we start playing a role in a child’s life, no matter how small, we are making a bigger impact on their lives than we are aware.

Back when I was doing this while still being a kid myself, I wasn’t really sure what kind of place I held in the life of the children I was assisting. My thoughts were just that after the summer camps ended, or they graduated from their extracurricular art classes, they would forget me later on and continue with their daily lives. As it turns out, these children do end up remembering the people who make both positive and negative impacts on their life, regardless of how much time they spent with them. I realized this when I was able to meet two young girls who I had perviously taken care of at a summer camp my church had held. They were very excited to see me and wanted to spend as much time with me as they were allowed, one of them even clinging to my leg when I had to leave! I was no family or friend of theirs, yet they wanted me to remain present. During the time at that camp, I hadn’t spoken to them much, as there were many other kids to deal with, yet the way that I had treated them and helped them with kindness and patience when they needed me brought this kind of reaction from them when they saw me again a number of months later.

Nowadays, a lot of children don’t expect to be taken seriously by the adults around them, and in worst cases, they do not even expect to be loved. This is why I feel moved to be the best caregiver I can be when I volunteer at places where children are actively participating, as well as educate other teachers and caregivers about what kinds of behavior they should employ around the kids. I want to be able to give children what they might possibly not receive from their family at home or from their friends and teachers at school. Respect, reassurance, and love. To have the patience to treat kids respectfully, to scold them in the kindest of ways when they need to be corrected, to be careful with children who have special needs and more. I’ve come to know that it’s absolutely imperative to show a child that they are meaningful and cared for when it’s up to us to guide or help them.

We can never be certain what a child’s personal life is like, but we must make sure that when they enter the doors of whatever institution we are working or volunteering for, and the parent leaves them in our care, we treat them in ways that will positively impact their development as people. What we do with kids today always has the potential to leave marks that will determine their course later in life. Children should not be neglected. I want to make it possible for kids to grow up sure of their self-worth despite other parts of society that put them down. For that reason, I believe that our world’s children need the best attention they can get, and I am committed to doing what I can to reach this goal and tell others about it.