Community Help by Bailey

Community Help by Bailey - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

I started volunteering with the St. Edward’s Soup Kitchen in September of 2014 every Monday to serve food to in-need individuals and families in our community. In the 2+ years that I have been going, I have only missed around 10 days, due to various prior commitments that prevented me from volunteering that night. Last school year, I was elected to be on my school’s student council, and I wanted to make sure that I could make a difference to the people of whom I have seen in my years at the soup kitchen in one way or another.
One of the projects that we have completed as a student council each year since our school opened is a fundraiser called “Pennies for Possibilities”, through which we provide a “Christmas” for families in our area who do not have the financial ability to have one. This year, we were able to raise over $23,000 with the help of businesses and individuals in the Magic Valley, which ended up being distributed in various ways (food, clothes, toys, necessities, etc.) to 11 families with leftover money being left in our account to be used in case of an emergency in our community which would present a dire need for it.
I took it upon myself to recommend one family that frequently attend the soup kitchen and demonstrate high financial need to the committee. I believed that this family was a very good selection for our student council to “adopt”, as I had seen them come through the soup kitchen very often. I was extremely pleased to find out that this family ended up being selected for us to assist, and felt very accomplished that I was able to make a difference in that family’s life.