Project Grace is the first big service project I did. With help from my friends (and our parents) we founded a nonprofit during my sophomore year of high school. We wanted to take everything that we had and share it with those who didn't, specifically the homeless in Dallas, though we did branch out a bit. We would run different drives for each season, for example the beanies and blankets drive we did in the winter of my senior year. More consistently, we would put together care packages to either give out ourselves or donate to other groups who would distribute them. We also went as a group to volunteer with other organizations, such as a soup kitchen in Dallas. This whole experience really ignited my love for service.
Instagram!Kyle Field Day is a one-day service event held in the concourse of Kyle Field. One of my organizations puts it on, and I have been a part of it for the past 2 years, and will again help to put it on this year. My job has been to make sure that everything runs smoothly during the event, so I get to walk around as a floater and deal with any issues that come up on the spot. With that I get to watch everyone doing the service. We have multiple service opportunities at the event, and I see people going down the line and doing each one. The different service booths will talk about what the service project is for, and how it will benefit the community. Just in walking around and watching others serve, I get to see the way that service really makes people happy, and I get to learn about how even small things like making a dog toy will really make someone's day.
The website!
I have participated in Big Event for the past 2 years, and I plan to continue to do so. Big Event is one of my favorite days of the year because of the service I get to perform. Big Event takes much of the tedious parts of service out, that being actually finding service to perform and figuring out the logistics of everything, and allows me to just show up and do some service. I've had 2 very different but enjoyable experiences with Big Event. My first year, my group was performing maintenance on the resident's garden, including weeding, raking, and cutting back bushes. That year, we stayed for longer than most of my friends in other groups, and got to spend some time getting to know the resident. My second year, we were helping the resident with mulching their yard. That was a faster service, but it was still enjoyable, and for both years we got to physically see the impact our service had.
The website!
Paws and Claws is an animal rehabilitation center that I have done service with. I've done a bunch of different activities to help them out, including cleaning up some of the cages, and helping to build a new enclosure for a turtle. Since I've gone there multiple times, I've gotten to see some animals become healthy and be released, as well as see some of the babies grow up a bit, like the bunny in the picture above. This was a great way to see some of the long term effects of service, with seeing the hurt animals get better and return to the wild.
The website!
Camp For All is a summer camp/sleep away camp/day camp for kids with disabilities. They have volunteers come and help out with a bunch of things around the camp. I've done some simple cleaning things, and also interacted with the kids. This is actually where I had one of my most impactful service interactions. I was assisting with horseback riding, leading the horses around a short path. One of the kids I was leading said that she rode horses often, and I mentioned that she was a pro and probably found this boring. It was just an offhand comment, but she said she felt safer having me lead. That showed me how impactful small moments of service could be for someone.
The website!
Isaiah's place is a summer camp for deaf kids. We came to help them with upkeep during their off season. They had us doing a bunch of small things, but I was mostly helping their gardens by weeding them. More than just the service, which was fairly standard, this showed how much some people give to service, and what goes on behind the scenes that allows people to serve. It was super impactful to see how much love and care the owners put into the camp, and I loved having the opportunity to show my own care back to them.
The website!