I must admit that I have always not been really interested in volunteering since I keep to myself a mindset that I should be able to lift myself before I can help the the others; this may probably be an uneven comparison but I learnt that attitude from the cases of people like Bill Gates who spent the first half of his life studying, working and fighting until he is able to help millions of people around the world.
This Saturday's afternoon, I got to think it over after going to LEAPS event at the Catholic Charities. The volunteer site was a residence complex where household who are financially struggling can find for their kids a safe, affordable neighborhood with opportunities for education. Our group was assigned to paint the walls and fences. It was fun since I got a chance to talk with friends and get dirty with paint. Later, while we were working at a building, there were three kids playing in the area who got excited with what we were doing and asked if they could help us. Getting our permission, they rolled their sleeves up without any hesitation and started picking up the brushes to the work right away with the utmost joy as if they were helping Santa Claus packing up the Christmas presents. They loved what they were doing, and they were even more excited than we were. It was their house. They made sure their mom knew it and be proud of them, for the first time, painting their house. It was such a memorable afternoon for me.
As I reflect on this experience, these kids taught me something about volunteering, simple but somehow I had ignored for a long time. For the most part, the point of a volunteer work is not about doing something of significant tangible value for people in need. Most of us do not have the necessary means to do that. Rather, it is about raising awareness and motivation in whichever community that you are helping. At the end, seeing those kids learning how to take responsibility, paint their own walls, and enjoy what they do was our best achievement of the day.
I actually volunteered sporadically throughout high school, but hadn't done much volunteering since coming to TCU. I didn't participate in LEAPS last year, but I decided to jump in and try it out this year. Like you, I suppose I just had never been that into volunteering and had always been wrapped up in the fact that I needed to get my own life together first. But after spending the day at the Community Food Bank, I discovered that volunteering can be fun and informative. I'm glad that you had a great experience while painting the house and with the kids who live in the house. I agree with you that volunteering is more about raising awareness in the community. After LEAPS, I know I will be doing more volunteer work around the Fort Worth area as it reminds me that there is a world outside of mine.
ReplyDelete