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i started a joke Being a Volunteer Rocks!
You know what's really cool? Being a volunteer! I started volunteering last year and it has been an awesome experience. At first, I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend my free time helping others instead of playing video games or hanging out with friends. But my mom encouraged me to try it, so I decided to give it a shot. I'm so glad I did!
My first volunteering gig was helping out at the local animal shelter. I absolutely love dogs and cats, so this seemed like the perfect fit for me. Every Saturday morning, I would go there for a few hours to help take care of the animals. My main jobs were feeding them, giving them fresh water, cleaning out their cages or kennels, and most importantly - playing with them!
The shelter staff was always so nice and appreciated any help they could get. There are a lot of animals there in need of loving care. It made me feel good to provide that for them while they waited to find their forever homes. Honestly, it was just as fun for me as it was helpful for the staff and animals!
I'll never forget the time I was playing fetch in one of the dog runs and a cute little puppy came bounding over, jumped up and just started licking my face like crazy! We were both having such a blast. Or the time I was petting this older cat and he Started purring so loudly it almost sounded like he was a lawnmower. Hilarious!
After a few months of faithfully volunteering at the animal shelter, I decided I wanted to try giving back in some other ways too. That's when I started volunteering for community cleanups a couple times a month. Our local parks and recreation center would organize events where we'd spend a few hours picking up litter at parks, along trails, and even from the sides of major roads.
It was hard work, especially on hot summer days, but we had a big group so we could co
ver a lot of ground. We'd suit up in brightly colored safety vests and grab those long stick thingies to help pick up trash safely without having to bend over a million times. I couldn't believe how much litter people just tossed aside! It was filling up those huge brown garbage bags and seeing how much we collected that made me really appreciate why these cleanups are so needed.
My favorite park to clean up is the one right by my school with the awesome playground, basketball courts and hiking trails. One time we found this gross old couch just dumped right in the woods off one of the trails! We had to call in special help to remove that one. But aside from weird larger items, most of what we picked up were things like candy wrappers, soda bottles and cans, fast food packaging, and plastic bags. All stuff that could have easily been put in a garbage can instead of being so carelessly tossed on the ground.
Whenever we finished a cleanup at a park, we'd do a little ceremony where the organizer would thank everyone for volunteering. We'd get to take group photos showing off all the garbage bags we collected, and they'd raffle off some cool prizes at the end that were dona
ted by local businesses. One time I actually won a 20 gift card to the pizza place near my house! Score!
For a while that was enough volunteering for me between the animal shelter and park cleanups. But then last month, a speaker came to our school to tell us about this super cool non-profit program that provides tutors and mentors for kids from underprivileged backgrounds. The idea is for students like me to volunteer once a week and spend time with an elementary student to help them with their schoolwork, read together, play educational games, and just be a supportive friend.
I immediately knew I wanted to sign up for that program. I've always loved little kids and I remember how much I looked up to the high school students who would come volunteer at my elementary school when I was that age. They were like superheros to me! So now I get the chance to be that role model and maybe even inspire a child to dream big.
My little buddy's name is Miguel and he's in 2nd grade. We meet up for an hour every Tuesday after school. Miguel is sucha funny, energetic kid and I look forward to our hangou
ts every week. I think he does too because he's always upbeat and eager to show me what new cool things he's learned.
Most of the time we work on reading and math, since those are the foundation for so many other subjects. But we also play counting games, do arts and crafts, and sometimes just kick a ball around the playground before heading inside to hit the books. Miguel's parents don't speak much English, so I've tried to learn some basic Spanish phrases to better communicate with them about how he's progressing.
One of my biggest roles is being someone Miguel can open up and have fun with in a judgement-free zone. A lot of the kids in the program don't have many Role models or steady supportive figures in their lives. So me being a trusted, caring friend who shows up consistently and believes in Miguel is just as valuable as the academic help I provide.
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