“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others. –Audrey Hepburn”
Helping others has always been a huge passion of mine, so having the opportunity to complete a service project of my choice was the perfect opportunity to do just that. After thinking of several ways I could help others I finally decided on putting together brown bags full of food to pass out to the homeless. I bought lunch meat, fruit, granola bars, mini water bottles, and bags of chips to put in each brown bag. I felt like that was an appropriate act of service to do in Tallahassee because there are so many homeless people that live here and due to the shelter only taking in so many people many of them go hungry most days.
I chose to complete this service project because I thoroughly enjoy helping others out and wanted to give back to the community. As a child I grew up very privileged and my parents always put food on the table and made sure my brother nor I went hungry. It breaks my heart to see people without a roof over their head and aching empty stomachs. By creating these brown bags full of food I knew I would be guaranteeing them at least one meal which is more than most are used to getting each day. I felt that giving back to the less fortunate and making sure their bellies were full just like my mom and dad did for me was the right thing to do, especially at this time of year.
Upon completing this service project, I believe that it made a huge impact on the homeless people I passed the brown bagged lunches out to. This is because the look on some of their faces when I handed them the brown bag full of food. You could tell no one has ever done such a thing for them before and how appreciative they were that they were going to have full bellies. Some of them were so shocked that someone even cared enough to spend time putting together these bags and then to pass them out all over town. After passing all the brown bag lunches out there was one lady in particular that stood out to me. When I first approached this lady she seemed very distraught for an unknown reason but as soon as I handed her the brown bag and she opened it up she began crying. She was so thankful that I was spending my free time passing out bagged lunches to the less fortunate. She then went on to tell me she just recently lost everything and how she was just thinking about how she had no idea how or what she was going to eat today. I can honestly say just from the short time I spent with her I could tell I made a huge impact in her life.
The impact this service project had on my educational wisdom path is that it confirmed that the career I chose is the one for me. I really enjoy helping others so it’s only fitting that I am going to school to become an elementary school teacher. It impacted my educational wisdom path by showing me that with knowledge and drive anything is possible. It also made an impact on me by reminding me how fortunate I am to attend school, have a roof over my head, and a full stomach at all times. Not everyone is as fortunate as I am and is given opportunities to make a difference in someone else’s life like I was for this service project.
In conclusion, I am very thankful to have been given the chance to complete an act of service, make an impact in someone’s life, and allow it to make an impact on my educational wisdom path. I am very happy with the service project I chose and how it turned out. Every single person I handed the brown bag full of food to was so grateful that they weren’t going to go hungry the entire day. Putting a smile on their face was far more than I could’ve asked for. With that being said, this service project is an experience I will never forget and hope to continue for as long as I am able to.
