Service Project Final Report
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” (Maya Angelou). This is especially true when you think about how often you speak to people and do things for them. Throughout the course of my life, I’ve come to the realization that people never forget how you make them feel, being good or bad. I am sure this still hold true today. Although it was a mandatory assignment for our class to participate in a service project, I have always been willing to give back to my community or help people out in their times of need. Not only did I learn a lot, but I was really glad to have this experience.
I chose to volunteer to participate in two of the service learning projects and both occasions were wonderful experiences, that I, myself will never forget, simply because I made people smile and feel good. The two service projects that I was interested in doing was the Veteran’s Village Thanksgiving serving, and later on decided to do the Veteran’s Day dinner. By doing these, I would be given the opportunity to give back to those who have done so much for this country. On day such as Veteran’s Day Thanksgiving, it is important to give thanks to those who have protected and served. It is not often that people show their gratitude to our veterans.
This is very important to me because I have always enjoyed helping other people, as well as volunteering my time. The veterans of our country deserve to be honored and appreciated because there is no way we can repay them for their services, but something as small as volunteering our time shows how thankful we are for what they have done. I realized that many students would not sign up for this, because they will be sharing this time with their families, but I am unable to spend this day with mine.
Because I was not able to go home and celebrate this holiday with my family, I was available to volunteer my time. Many take for granted what Thanksgiving really is. It is not about eating and watching football, but about being thankful and giving thanks. With that being said, I will volunteer to help serve the veterans on this Thanksgiving Day, because I am so blessed to give back to the men and women who have risk their lives for the love of this country. I would love to take advantage of this opportunity to thank the veterans for their dedication, commitment and loyalty to our country.
The first service project I participated in was the Veteran’s Day Dinner. One of my classmates and I went to Wal-Mart to shop the night before, in order to prepare for the dinner. I love to cook, so I thought this was a great idea. The following day, we cooked up our meals and went to the dinner. It was such a great experience to donated and serve the veterans on such a special day. Many people have no clue what these men and women are going through. We have automatically assumed that because they are veterans, they are well taken care of and appreciated. This is so far from the truth. This was a real eye opener, because as an African, I have always thought that there were very few people who were poor in America. The media and television, paint such a false picture of what is actually true. I was most surprised by the way they lived. They lived in apartments with four people in small rooms. I also noticed that they were all from different areas, not just veterans, but some were from jail as well.
Some of these men and women had loss their loved ones and were living in poverty and it was a rewarding experience to have to chance to actually show my appreciation to those who are less fortunate. I am so blessed and honored to have been able to give back to the community that I live in. They seemed to enjoy the food and the fellowship. With this experience, I will never take for granted the blessings that have been bestowed upon me. This service project had a tremendous impact on my educational wisdom path. As I continue my educational journey, I think that I will continue to do service projects because there’s nothing like giving your time to others, especially those who are less fortunate than I am.
While at both events, the appreciation and looks on their faces, was an experience that I am positive that they will never forget. I am 100 percent certain that these service projects also had a great impact on the Veterans in the Tallahassee area, as well. I know one thing for certain, I will never forget the way I felt, when I saw how grateful the veterans were, simply because we took a few short hours to volunteer our time, and show some respect and appreciation for them.
