For me, Community Building Day proved to be both educational and enjoyable.
I felt as if I was actually helping the On Track students’ lives in a small way
by encouraging and befriending them, as well as answering some of their
questions about college. I thought it was especially impactful that we
volunteered at a local high school
because it meant we were positively influencing the lives of people in and
around our own neighborhood. While mission trips to other places are also excellent
ways to serve, serving people in our own community can be more permanent, since
we do not leave at the end of the week.
Even though we volunteered our time to the On Track students, more importantly, the On-Track students contributed their enthusiasm. I was extremely impressed by how motivated and eager they were, despite their less than ideal circumstances. I hope that we were able to show them that we were a community that supports them because I believe a supportive community can make a huge difference in their lives. When a student has a support system they have something to fall back on when things get hard. I know many of the students are not able to lean on their family, which makes it even more vital that we came.
Several aspects of Community Building Day surprised me, the first being the size the On Track program. We outnumbered the students about three to one. However, this gave us the unique opportunity to give each individual student some personal attention. I admit I was also a bit taken aback by how intelligent the students were. I realize now that I had some preconceived assumptions about the nature of these students who came from harsh backgrounds, but the student that I worked with actually helped me with the activities. I honestly do not know what the students thought of me, in particular, but I hope that they thought I was kind and encouraging to them. According to the On Track students, we volunteers appeared intimidating when we first walked through the door, but we turned out to be fun to spend time with. In summary, I was blessed abundantly by this experience and I look forward to many more volunteer opportunities to come.
Even though we volunteered our time to the On Track students, more importantly, the On-Track students contributed their enthusiasm. I was extremely impressed by how motivated and eager they were, despite their less than ideal circumstances. I hope that we were able to show them that we were a community that supports them because I believe a supportive community can make a huge difference in their lives. When a student has a support system they have something to fall back on when things get hard. I know many of the students are not able to lean on their family, which makes it even more vital that we came.
Several aspects of Community Building Day surprised me, the first being the size the On Track program. We outnumbered the students about three to one. However, this gave us the unique opportunity to give each individual student some personal attention. I admit I was also a bit taken aback by how intelligent the students were. I realize now that I had some preconceived assumptions about the nature of these students who came from harsh backgrounds, but the student that I worked with actually helped me with the activities. I honestly do not know what the students thought of me, in particular, but I hope that they thought I was kind and encouraging to them. According to the On Track students, we volunteers appeared intimidating when we first walked through the door, but we turned out to be fun to spend time with. In summary, I was blessed abundantly by this experience and I look forward to many more volunteer opportunities to come.
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