Reflection over Service Project

This Blog is Different from my Theme.

But it stimulates ideas over one's service to their community

           The organization I worked for during the year was the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul focuses on helping those in need and those seeking charity. The Society has a variety of ways to help those in need. I worked in the Society’s Thrift Store at Bellaire. The Thrift Store sells donated clothes and other donated materials at cheap prices. The Thrift Store helps people in need of clothes and they also use the money earned to continue helping people in need. My duties at the Thrift Store were to enhance the “customers” experience (help them find what they needed), clean the store (vacuum and clean windows to shelves), price used clothes at reasonable prices, and move heavy furniture to style the store.

            The Jesuit motto is “Men for Others”; I helped people in need of charity find necessities at the store. Jesuit education teaches me to be patient. Many people, who needed help, took time to find their needs. I had to be patient with each individual “customer”; for example, there was a couple who did not speak English nor Spanish and I had to use sign language (pointing and creating objects with my hands) to communicate. Jesuit education teaches me to be loving. I was loving with each “customer” no matter their size, color, or religion. The service project helped me grow as an individual person striving to become a “Man for Others”. The peaceful feeling one gets from helping other is amazing. One feels closer to God because all people are God’s children. In my long-term goals, I wish to give back to my community. The service project is a way to give back to my community for at least fifteen hours.

            The service project has not really impacted my belief system. I always knew I had to aid others. I've always believed in God; God through the Church encourages us to act with kindness towards others.  Jesus said, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34), I try to follow this Commandment through acts of charity. The service has affected my sense of Christian responsibility. I was responsible for the care of people in dire need. A Faith that does Justice to me means the Catholic community striving to help the poor (some who through no fault of their own are poor). My family encouraged me for helping my community. My family felt proud that I was giving “back to the faith”. My family’s experience with the Service-Learning Project was encouraging. They believed that the project is a great way for young men to help people in need. Before the project, I felt comfortable working with those in need as I have experience from freshman year. During the project, I felt tired because striving to do well does not come easy. Hard work leads to great results. After the project, I felt a sense of accomplishment because I was a “Man for Others”.