Volunteering

http://www.havenforhope.org/new/

 This semester I signed up for a core class at St. Marys and had no idea what I was getting into. This was something that the university made essential to finishing any degree.

  In the beginning of class I was kind of turned off to the idea of having to go out into the community and give back. I really had never done anything like this before so I was out of my comfort zone. The more I learned about what kind of difference a person can make, the more the idea was sounding better and better.

  Our professor put us into groups for one to try and get us to socialize and for two he probably knew that working a project in groups would probably work better and in the end get more accomplished. To this point I really didn't know anybody in class except for the occasional nod. I met four other individuals that like me had never done anything like this before but we were determined to do what was necessary to make a good grade. Well, at least that's how it started. As the weeks went by and we got to know each other better the ideas of helping others kind of just naturally came to us. In the end we decided on trying to help the homeless in some fashion.

  Haven for Hope is where we decided to concentrate our efforts and try to make a difference in someones life. One of the first times we met there we had no idea what was going to happen or what we were getting ourselves into. Julian, the coordinator sent us to the clothing area to try and help sort out some of the many donation bags that were dropped off. What we found out was that there are some really generous people in our community and even gave clothes that still had tags on them. We must have gone through at least thirty bags and didnt even make a dent in the pile of donations. The next time we went we were sent to St Vincent De Paul and to do kitchen duties. All of us were lost there as none of us really cooked especially Kelsey. Our fears diminished as all we had to do was cut desserts and slice bread. It was hard to believe that all this food was donated by many of the grocery stores in the city. It was a pleasant and refreshing sight to see that the "Big Guys" cared about the less fortunate as we did. All of us really liked the kitchen detail and even tasted a few samples especially Sam (sorry Sam).

  One of the things our group has learned is that a homeless situation can happen to anybody and most of us are merely a paycheck away from being there ourselves. I would like to thank St. Marys for making this class mandatory as well as Professor Burke for making this a memorable project. My last and final thanks goes to my new and hopefully lifelong friends as we will be Rattlers forever. Sam, Kelsey and Pablo I want to thank you for making this project fun and volunteering personally rewarding.