Volunteering Helps by Charina

Volunteering Helps by Charina - October 2013 Scholarship Essay

I was about 15 years old when I volunteered in the first community service that greatly impacted my life. My high school introduced this community service to students who wanted to help, so I jumped right at that opportunity because it sounded interesting. It was a 2-day service, located in a Sojourner Truth Presbyterian church next to my school, that occurs every 3rd Friday and Saturday of each month. Our schedule was normal: On Fridays, the volunteers and staff stuff packaged/canned/boxed foods in a bag. On Saturdays, we deliver the bags to the people waiting in line who signed up to receive the food.
It was a regular Saturday morning and we were about to be finished giving out food when an older woman, who had a family of four, came late to get her share of food. The staff were, of course, understanding and kind people, so they let her in to get anything she wanted. Afterwards, she thanked and blessed the staff for having this event and the students for volunteering here. That was the moment when I realized that I was actually helping people with their lives, even if it was in a small area and only a few knew about this service. I was helping families that couldn't afford enough food each month. I once even heard one of people in line say that without this service, their family wouldn't have been able to go on for long--that touched my heart. From this experience, I promised myself that I would help more people in need, whether it's volunteering in soup kitchens and homeless shelters to donating directly to bigger/smaller organizations or people. Whatever career or position I'm in the future, I will volunteer because volunteering does help.