Helping the Hungry by Kiara

Helping the Hungry by Kiara - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

Why do I volunteer?
I am a leader in my community, volunteering, raising money for and collecting food for needy children and families. My motivation would have to be my parents. They are both a part of organizations that give back to their community and help those in need. I came up with this idea because I go to school with kids who come to school hungry and do not have enough food to eat. The activity began at my house in my kitchen with my 4 brothers and sisters helping out, and then it grew from there. This issue is important because children are very vulnerable and many of them do not have places to live or food to eat. This, in turn, effects their studies, their education and how they socialize and interact with others. There is a lot of effort put into helping the hungry. I cannot do this by myself. I made sure to make others aware of the problem through flyers, power-point presentations and meetings. I got on Facebook, Twitter and other social network outlets to get the word out to all my friends. They should be involved as well. I also got my mom and dad to help me. I worked with my dad's fraternity and my mom's sorority, speaking to the members and getting their support. The members of Alpha Phi Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta pledged their support and got on board with my cause. The most difficult part was trying to tie all these different elements together and getting everyone in the same place at the same time. Around the holidays, I help to organize a Turkey Dinner drop to families in need. This involves talking to local grocery stores and farmers markets, raising money and collecting donations, doing the shopping and putting the dinners all together and delivering them to needy families. I asked for help from guidance counselors, adjustment counselors and social service agencies to get the names of students and families in need. Donations were given and brought in from elementary, middle and high school students, local college students and the business community. Because people are hungry all year round, not just around the holidays, the food drive continues all year round. There are donations boxes at every school around the city and at many local businesses. There were 50 to 60 people involved in helping to collect, organize and put together dinners and food baskets. Hundreds of children and families in our city were fed and helped.

Impact Volunteering Has Had On Me
There are systems in place to make sure that this will be an ongoing event and activity to raise awareness, money, donations and food for hungry children in our schools. I learned quite a bit from my service experiences. I learned that I am very fortunate and blessed. I have food to eat and a roof over my head. I also learned that there are very generous people in my community. There are people ready to lend a hand, give, help out and donate at a moment’s notice. I have better communication skills and I am much more organized now because of this. Seeing the faces of the students and families we helped was very fulfilling and made me feel that this work is worthwhile.
How Will I Maintain My Commitment to Volunteering and Service
I will continue to stay committed to serving my city and my community. One of the most memorable experiences was seeing and helping a family that had lost everything due to a recent tornado here in our city. We were able to give them food and give the kids uniform clothes that they lost in the storm. That felt really good. If I had to talk to other young people about my experience I would tell them to get up, get out and go help someone else! I would share with them that volunteering is so very rewarding, helping others in need can be a life changing event and beneficial to the person in need and to you. Kids are often seen as selfish and apathetic, self-absorbed and greedy. Volunteering and giving back dispels this myth and gives you a chance to prove that young people are positive and caring and focused on others and can give up their time and give of themselves. I love people and I love my city. I will always continue to return and help those in need.