Service Learning

In high school, I was really involved in community service. I was a part of our school's Interact Club, which focused on going out into the community and providing service whetherever we saw the need. We did can drives, read to underpriveledged schools, and cleaned the school campus. Probably the one that affected me the most was the toy drive we did for the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home. The Children's Home is a place where orphaned children can go to live and be taken care of for no extra cost. But these children typically don't recieve Christmas gifts you and I have come to expect. They recieved toothpaste, shampoo, and other toiletries. So my school decided to have a toy drive, where we got the Christmas Lists of the kids there and raised money to buy almost everything on their lists. This was especially touching because my mom grew up at the Tennesee Baptist Children's Home. She knew from first hand experience what the toy drive would mean to the kids. It was sad to envision her as a child, experiencing a blah Christmas. So I really got into the drive, asking students at Ravenwood to donate even change to the cause. It's something I'm really proud to say I was a part of.
I've never really done any community service as a part of a course. Helping the community is just something that my mom has drilled into my head since I was a child. She's been on numerous committees that have raised tons of money for various organizations. So I guess I've never really thought about it as something I supposed to do; its something I need to do. If I'm fortunate enough to have to things I have, then I need to take some time from my life and share what I have.