Service Week Three

Well, here I am posting thirty minutes too late. It is my birthday today, by the way. I have been all over the place, including to the basketball game to play with the pep band and other such things. It was not exactly how I planned my birthday, but it was not really that bad. Now I get to write about one of the highlights of my week, actually.

I volunteered again at the humane society for a couple of hours this week. My opinion changed a little this time. While we were cleaning the puppy room, we actually got to clean the cages. It was amazing. One thing I did not like experiencing was seeing them remove a very sick puppy from its cage. They were going to have to put the poor thing down. It was a new, sad experience for me.

Talking to my comrade, Jessica Collier, as we were cleaning and playing with the puppies, I realized just how wonderful this organization can really be. Although it may seem messy and hectic a lot of the time, they are giving animals a chance to survive. Unlike other shelters, they will keep animals for as long as they possibly can. Others will only keep animals for about a week before putting them down, whether they have room or not. Therefore, I commend the work that this business does. It seems like tough work, but I now see the many benefits that come out of it.

Community Service: Week Two

Today was the end of Community Service: Week Two. I was not able to officially do any volunteer work this week. Therefore, I have decided to write a generalized reflection.

As I was traveling home, I began to think about the public's view of organized community service. We always praise those people who are motivated to donate their time to volunteer work, but we never seem to be able to follow their example. I have mixed feelings about all of this. At first, all I could think was, 'All of these people are hypocrites. How can they talk about how important it is when they do not even do it themselves?' Then, after a while, I realized that I do the same thing. I have always respected volunteers and have always emphasized their work in my leadership roles, but I have not taken the time to volunteer as much as I could have. So, how was I different from the people I was criticizing? That is an easy answer. I wasn't.

Through my experiences with the Youth Advisory Board and the Humane society, I have realized just how much work and time it takes to volunteer. These places run on very little money and even less help. They rely on those who are willing to donate time and/ or money to help those in need. I know that, as an active college student, I have found it hard to fit in just these few hours a week. Think about those people who go to school, work full time, raise a family, and volunteer. That should be something we all strive for.