Personal Narrative: Growing Up In Public Housing

For my service leaning assignment, I volunteered at the Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival in support of the Montgomery County Food Bank receiving donations at the festival entrance. In volunteering at the event, I learned the differences in service learning, volunteerism and community service and will provide details in what I learned a about each. I will also provide details and examples of teamwork, communication and networking experiences gained while at the event. A brief overview of the Montgomery County Food bank will also be provided with information on the assignment task, measurable success and interaction with fellow students and organization directors.

I volunteered at Mother Hubbard's Cupboard, an emergency food pantry, in Wilmington, North Carolina from 2012-2016. Throughout my four years of service, I learned how to handle almost all of the jobs available to volunteers, including packing packages for families with a stove or no-stove individuals, teaching new volunteers about the Cupboard and the jobs available, checking patrons in at the front desk, preparing hygiene supply packages for patrons, and working at various tables in the front to distribute various additional food to patrons. I am interested in serving on the Feed the Pack Leadership Team because I want to expand the overall impact and efficiency of Feed the Pack. I am committed to service and I want to lead a life of serving others, and I believe that working on the FTP Leadership team will allow me to continue to maximize my service efforts in the community and beyond.

The first time I noticed Mike Newton, I was at the campus dining hall completing my community service. Miss Porter’s School required all students to do ten hours of volunteer work each week. According to the program director, Mr. Banner, it gave us the opportunity not only to prepare for college but also, experience firsthand the joy and sense of purpose that comes from serving others. I had undoubtedly won the placement lottery and been given the prestigious job of kitchen duty at our school’s cafeteria. Ten hours each week, I scrubbed tables, filled salt shakers, helped take inventory, and completed any other menial tasks that needed doing.

On November 9th, I attended an event in the glass lounge that was ran by campus ministry, involving homelessness and hunger. This event correlates with Gwynedd Mercy University’s theme of #MakeMercyReal because it allows us to show mercy and help those who are in need. This event has changed my outlook on a great deal of issues that I did not know were prevalent at our school and has made me want to make a difference. Lauren DuCharme is an inspiring woman from campus ministry and is very passionate about what she does.

Summer brought a conclusion to AP exams, AP and Honors classes, and Swim Team. Although I grateful for the much deserved break, I had an overwhelming urge to become an active member for my community. I knew I needed to obtain my mark in the world in a special way during the summer large-scale or not. However, I never thought I would volunteer at a food bank. As an acutely withdrawn and self-conscious person, I’d much rather prefer to assist out behind the scenes, as a dutiful background member.

I have lived in East Oakland my whole life. To the majority of people, the mention of East Oakland evokes thoughts of violence, shootings, and gangs. I was one of the people who believed in these stereotypes, and for a particularly long time. I was one of the people who saw Oakland as a wasteland, a place with nothing to offer me, and a place I had nothing to offer to.

I grew up in inner city Baltimore Maryland. Neither of my parents were or are followers of Christ. They divorced when I was very young. I spent most of my life moving from place to place with my mother and two brothers. I gave up on high school when I failed my freshmen year.

Our capstone project is aimed at combating the lack of basic healthcare and basic service in the poor and homeless. The biggest factors toward poor health are discriminatory behavior towards homeless communities and insufficient clothing to combat weather. According to a study done by Diversity and Equality in Health and Care, “people who are homeless are frequently treated as objects or dehumanized by nurses.” A comprehensive study done by NCBI and the city of Toronto confirms this behavior in cities throughout Canada and the United States.

For this service-learning project, I decided to volunteer at Meals on Wheels in Rocky Mount. Meals on Wheels is a nonprofit organization that deliver meals to individuals at home that are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals. My grandmother who volunteers with them every Tuesday first introduced me to the program 10 years ago. Kara is a family friend who is the Director of Development for Meals on Wheels. She helped me get the volunteering opportunity.

I learned a lot from this experience and discovered this passion for helping people. Over time I was able to build relationships with the people in this community and that will forever have a huge impact on my

According to Webster’s dictionary, there are several definitions of the word “prejudice.” The prejudices we form are usually out of ignorance and fear. The book, Same Kind of Different As Me adheres to the following definition: preconceived judgment or opinion. Both Denver Moore and Ron Hall epitomized the definition of having a preconceived judgement or opinion of each other. Ron Halls’s prejudice or opinion of Denver Moore is one of a homeless person coming to the mission for another handout.

One night, during the cold winter, I walked along the side walk to reach the local store down the block. As I walked out, before I can realize it, I was dropping down onto the concrete while bullets swiftly passed me. I then began to run back home, but I wanted to keep running. Away from Chicago, away from the west side. Growing up in Chicago, it was easy to assume that there was nothing different beyond the blocks of my streets.

Although most of my involvement has centered around politics, where I have been an active volunteer in the current election cycle, my service also extends to the homeless community in the Quad Cities. After recognizing the extent of homelessness in Davenport, my friend decided to start a nonprofit 5K to benefit a local shelter and I immediately joined in the venture. By working with the shelter rather than independently, we were able to avoid the faults set forth in To Hell With Good Intentions. Our good intentions have donated over $10,000 to King’s Harvest Ministries, who uses funds in a way that raises the standard of living for the local homeless

Beneficiaries called to ask me if I wanted to perform community service at a cathedral in Dallas, TX. I agreed because I like to volunteer in any event when it is needed. This event was called “Feed the Hunger,” which I signed up for and looked forward to because of my desire to lend a hand and assist the needy and unfortunate. At first, I thought this event was just one of those other community service opportunities that I am usually called to facilitate and volunteer my time. However, in the end, this occasion was a life-changing experience.

Many if not all of us can relate to the statement that we’ve all had useless clutter in our lives, both physical and mental. We may not realize it but it can be a constant battle to get rid of these useless thoughts, possessions, memories and for some, people. It can be as simple as having to look at yourself in the window as you walk past it just to make sure you look good or it could be as drastic as constantly checking your phone for notifications and changing your life to keep up with the ‘social norms’. I didn’t realise that I had so much unnecessary things, people and thoughts in my life until I looked back on it and actively changed it.