Christian Service Final Project

Casey Levesque

Christian Service Final Project

2011

Community service should not have to be a requirement for graduation but a way of life. You get back so much more than you give. You get to make a difference, meet new people, have fun, feel better about yourself, learn a new skill, use a skill you already have, give hope to others, make others happy, help the environment. It gives you purpose, makes you feel valued and appreciated.

It helps you to become personal and socially responsible not only for yourself but for your community. It helps you to become more involved in your community and can make a difference. I feel like it is so important to be involved in my community and make a positive contribution. It is important for the success of the community for kids to be the next generation and keep involved. You form bonds with people in your community through volunteering. By volunteering it helps to enhance your interpersonal skills and increase your social network. Volunteering can lead to increased care for others and a desire to cooperate and get involved in positive ways. It gives you a feeling of social connectedness that seems to be lacking in today's society. It makes you feel socially responsible. It exposures you to diversity, multiculteralisma and different ways of thinking. You get back much more, when I volunteer it makes me feel so good that I can give of myself and someone benefits from it. Volunteering is free and fun.

I did most of my Christian Service hours assisting the Telephone Pioneers of America. I chose this organization for a few reasons, first they help children and older people in our community thru various projects. Secondly, I have participated in helping since I was in middle school for me it has become a way of life. The Pioneers began in 1911 at their first meeting of employees in Boston. Later they split into chapters around the United States. I have been active in The Thomas Sherwin Chapter which is made up of entirely volunteers both old and young. The Pioneers benefit so many in the surrounding communities.

My first ever project I participated in was going to various schools in Fall River and New Bedford and distributing 10,000 dictionaries to middle school children. I can remember how excited the kids were to have their very own dictionary. Some had never seen or used a dictionary ever. This was one they could actually keep, take home and call their own. We went from classroom to classroom distributing them and giving them a quick lesson on how to use it. They kids were so thankful and appreciative of something so small that it makes you realize that the little things in life can mean so much to someone.

Another very fun and important project I did was map painting of the United States in various school playgrounds. It is so important to have the map since it represents the Country we live in but also it is used as a learning tool and the kids can actually play games on it.

Every year the Pioneers host a Veterans Birthday Party Cook-out at the V.A. in Brockton. The cook-out is a way to say thank you to the Veterans. We also distributed socks, t-shirts and personal care items to each and everyone of them. My job is to serve them their plates and I make sure with each one I serve I thank them personally for giving so unselfishly of themselves. It is always a rewarding experience but yet bittersweet. Every year when I go there I usually see the same people and for some we are their only visitors. Some years when I go back I do find that some have passed on and it is a good feeling to know that I have crossed paths and touched their lives if only for a day or a smile.

Another project I am proud to be a part of is the backpack project. Together we collected 50 backpacks and supplies to fill them. We distributed them to the Boys and Girls Clubs so that the kids could start school prepared with what they needed to help them succeed.

We have a group of retired elder women who sew hug-a-bears. We then distribute them to area hospitals, police and fire trucks. They are used to aid patients recovering from heart surgery and for children for comfort in traumatic