Volunteer Project: Veterans Thanksgiving Dinner
Though some people are born in good circumstances, some aren’t. Some depend on others to look out for them and when there are none who care, that person is left to perish. The Dalai Lama once said, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” There’s nothing stopping someone from being kind other than the person themselves. Sometimes a small act can mean just as much as a big one. After all, a small act of kindness is better than no act at all.
The service project I did was to feed the veterans for Thanksgiving. I spent most of that day making the food that I was assigned to bring. It was fun making the food because I knew it was going to people who deserved it. My parents were less excited about it, but I didn’t really care. People who are willing to fight for this country have every right to be treated nicely and made food for. The food was still warm when I arrived at the Veterans Village and I helped hand out goodie bags and also take the food upstairs. I didn’t expect so many people to show up but I guess everyone at the Village would know about something like this.
As more students who brought food showed up, we began organizing everything and making sure everything was where it should be. Plates were out, drinks were ready, and all the food was ready to be served. A lot of people showed up to get food. Way more than I anticipated. I was picturing in my head before I got there that they would stay and talk but that wasn’t the case. The room was too small and people got their food and took it back to their rooms to eat in privacy. I don’t blame them; I would have done the same thing. Some people spoke while in line and getting their food while others didn’t say a word the entire time. Everyone was different, some more so than others.
I was slightly sad that the dish I made was the least popular but that isn’t really a big deal. The whole point was for the veterans to have food and that’s what we did. By the end of it all, everyone was pretty tired and ready to go home. The students were a lot quieter than the veterans and one veteran even pointed it out. I just kind of smiled because it was very apparent that we were all just tired. Speaking to everyone at the end though, we all felt the same way: happy. We all reached our goal and at the same time felt a sense of satisfaction. Everyone had made a difference in a person’s life and that’s something we all agreed on.
