Caring for the Community by Celeste

Caring for the Community by Celeste - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

When I was ending the eighth grade, I was introduced to the Waco Police Explorers. And when I joined the organization I didn’t realize that I would change the community I was in and myself. Explorers is a Learning for Life program that gives kids a chance to experience work place situations for careers such as police work or firefighters. The organization in Waco includes the fundamentals of police work, but it also includes a lot of volunteer work in the city.
The group I am apart of consists of roughly 12 young adults ranging between the ages of 14-21, and each of us are from different family backgrounds and schools in the city. The fact that we are all from different backgrounds and schools never stopped us from working together and trying to help our community. The way we helped our community was by putting on official police explorer uniforms and working to serve and protect those who needed it the most. A few of the most successful volunteer activities we do include ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. When we have a uniform, the Salvation Army receives a larger donation and that means that we can collect more to donate.
Another event that is personal with me is the Bike Rodeo we do for under privileged kids in the city. The bike rodeo is taken place in the fall, typically a little before school starts so the kids can ride their bikes to school, and during it we teach kids bike and street safety. We also collect bike donations for contributors and then donate them to the kids. When kids see teenagers and adults in police uniforms some of them get scared, but when you actually spend time teaching them to be careful and give a little, the kids can give back a lot. Seeing them smile because I taught them how to safely cross a street or gave them a small badge sticker makes me happy because I feel like I am making a difference in my community.
Nowadays on the news police officers are being targeted. Parents watch the news and that means that the kids are also hearing what is going on. In my community, I want the children and general public to understand that not everyone in a uniform is bad. As a Waco Police Explorer, who volunteers over 100 hours a year since I was in the eighth grade, I believe that I can help kids become less fearful of uniforms and hopefully encourage them to join explorers in the future. I want to make an impact on their lives, and even if I don’t, just knowing that I made them smile for a little bit is enough for me to continue volunteering.