Veterans Village 2017

It is a strange Christmas, my first one without Abuelo, the first one being no one's granddaughter.  There are no small children around, and things are almost excruciatingly quiet.
That is OK, I'll take it; I kinda hated chasing toddlers around anyway.

This year my parents asked for us to give things in their name instead of giving them gifts.

Because I was born partially disobedient, I sent them books (thank you Amazon Prime) but I also bought things for the veterans at Veterans Village in their name to add to the pile of donations from my students, former student-veterans, and a few angels out there who know who you are.

Mom and Dad, you sent 5 warm fuzzy blankets, 6 large soft towels, and 6 pairs of slippers to the Veterans. Oh and something else, but I'll get to to that in a minute.

Students from AMH2020 and my WOH class brought donations from December 1 - 8 that filled my office at TCC.

On December 20 (the day after my birthday, which starts the official "holidays") I moved all the stuff from my office to my house. This involved  a lot of going up and down stairs at work (until I remembered I could load the elevator) and concentrating really super hard on not getting locked out of 1) my car 2) the building and 3) my office.  

After THAT, I had to carry all the stuff into my house to be sorted out and counted.  

This is my fifth holiday season with the veterans and I have learned to not let people adopt particular veterans because some people get left out. I have learned to not bring wrapped gifts, and I have learned to make sure each veteran gets approximately the same gift(s).  

Yes, Zack asked if he could have a blanket and we had a quick discussion about the karma surrounding that kind of choice.  

After that, he joined me in stacking and counting and rolling.

I learned (from experience) to sort the shoes and clearly label them by size.  

 This year I wanted to do something new,  something that would represent how my parents always go a little bit extra, so I made gift bags for each veteran.  They are always asking for razors, so I gave them 2-3 triple bladed razors, a bunch of chocolate, and a few rocks and shells.

 This isn't the first time I've brought shells and rocks and asked questions like "how fast can a dead snail run" so don't worry about the veterans thinking they got coal in their stockings.

 Here is the story that explains rocks and shells:

http://www.melissapedia.com/2017/12/how-high-can-rocks-fly-part-1.html
http://www.melissapedia.com/2017/12/how-high-can-rocks-fly-part-2-do-http://www.melissapedia.com/2017/12/how-high-can-rocks-fly-part-3-how-fast.html

Anyway, I enjoyed this immensely.

After all that, I added a giftbag to every towel and tied a cute bow around the towel too because I'm representing my mom and while I tend to race through things, she always takes the extra time to make sure things are "nice."

After that, I  loaded up my car and headed out to meet other people from the TCC community (you know who you are!!) to give the veterans warm holiday food, plenty of sweets, and our wishes that the New Year will bring blessings, wisdom and happiness. 

NL: I hope that these men and women enjoy their christmas gifts and I hope that they can get back on their feet

AMH2020 student

“Help others and give something back. I guarantee you will discover that while public service improves the lives and the world around you, its greatest reward is the enrichment and new meaning it will bring your own life.”

- Arnold Schwarzenegger

            At first I was going to cook pulled pork for a veterans BBQ at the Veteran’s Village, but then my boss accidentally scheduled me to work on the day of the BBQ. So I ended up signing up to give holiday gifts to homeless veterans at the Veteran’s Village. I love helping people in need and I am in Army ROTC and I will be an Army Officer in about 3 years. Homeless veterans are in constant need and they served our country and deserve to be treated as honored veterans. Some of these homeless veterans were heros and have not even been recognized for the heroism that they have done. The Veteran’s Village temporarily houses these homeless veterans that are in need. For this service project I bought two $15 fast food gift cards, one was to Wendy’s and the other was to Taco Bell. I hope that these men and women enjoy their christmas gifts and I hope that they can get back on their feet and maybe even help other homeless veterans in need someday.

CH: Everyone came together to do a good deed and that was so powerful for me.

AMH2020 student

"As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others". - Audrey Hepburn  

 I helped feed the veterans at Veterans Village. This was my second time going and it was such a great experience. The first time I went I didn’t know what to expect so I just helped where I could. This time I knew what I was doing and knew that I wanted to serve food. Although I did not bring food, I supplied the drinks, I knew that the food was the main event. We had chicken tenders, green beans, shepherd’s pie, macaroni, fruit and a ton of desserts!! I made little fruit cups as the veterans came in and they couldn’t be happier. No one skips out on fruit. Everyone was so grateful and all I was doing was serving fruit to them. It just shows that something so little can go such a long way.

While serving food to the vets you also get to talk to different students and classmates at TCC. This helped me make some new friends and meet some very nice people that have the same values as I do. Everyone came together to do a good deed and that was so powerful for me. It doesn’t matter who a person is or what a person might be going through everyone comes together to give back and that is the best thing in the world.

With this being my second time at Veterans Village I felt more comfortable and knew exactly what to do so I came out of my comfort zone and talked to some of the vets. Although it was just small talk while they were getting their food, it still was nice to be more involved.

This project connects to my core value because along with making lasting relationships I believe in giving back whenever and however a person can. Just giving up a little of your time can go a long way.

This semester I have learned so much about veterans and how they had to fight for rights just like immigrants or people during segregation. Veterans risk their lives for our freedom. These men and women have been affected in all different ways. To be able to give back to them for their service is truly special. My grandfather was war veteran and I know how much it means to him and I am certain it has the same effect on all the veterans at Veterans Village.

My roommate asked me what I was doing the night of Veterans Village and I told her that I was volunteering. Once I explained to her what I would be doing, she became very interested and asked to tag along. I figured you can never have too much help when volunteering so why not. It was great because while making other people happy I was able to share this experience with my roommate as well. I will always recommend Veterans Village to someone who wants to volunteer. This is such a beautiful place and thing to do.

I would love to continue going to Veterans Village with your history classes next semester. I now feel like I have a little family at Veterans Village as well. Giving back this semester has made me a better person and I am going to continue to give back. While in college it’s always nice to take a break from school and homework and do something nice for other people. I cannot wait to continue giving back throughout my college years.

RD: By helping others, it not only helps the other person, it helps yourself and makes you a better person.

AMH2020 student

“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others,” by Audrey Hepburn is a very inspiring quote that really expresses how every human should live their life. The hands God give us do not change, they are the same hands we were given life with, nothing has changed besides the person and what they choose to do with those hands. What they choose to do or use those hands for is completely up to them and the hands have to comply. Your hands can be used in many different ways, good or bad, and the only person who decides this is the person themselves. Our hands can be used for ourselves or others.

            The hands that we eat and do labor with, are the same hands that can also give back and help the less fortunate. Helping others is such a great way to relieve stress and realize other points of views around the world. By helping others, it not only helps the other person, it helps yourself and makes you a better person. Everyone can become a better person, no one is perfect or complete. The holiday gift exchange was a great way to give back and help the less fortunate by giving them daily necessities that could be seen as obtainable items or rare things. By donating my time and resources, I learned so much of what other people have to deal with and truly realize how big the world is.

            My family is starting a tradition during the holiday season where my cousins and I go to the Ronald McDonald house and give them our time and resources. We are all bringing in items we think are needed by most people that are a necessity. After that we are serving lunch to the people and giving out gifts to all the people. I am very excited to start this tradition because I know it is a lot like the Holiday gift exchange.

            Being able to donate my time is what I do a lot over summer as well. I am a counselor at a camp called Camp I am Special. Camp I am Special is a camp throughout summer where each week new kids and adults with mental, physical, or emotional disabilities come to escape. Seeing the look on their faces is absolutely priceless where they are doing the simplest thing of brushing their teeth by themselves or going to get a glass of water is unreal. I would have never thought that brushing my teeth could be so exciting, but to them it is. Being at this camp as a counselor for four years now has taught me so much like the gift exchange. It has taught me that in life, sometimes looking at the big picture is okay, but the smaller pictures with extravagant detail is better because nothing can be taken for granted.

 Nothing in life should be over looked, even a blanket, slippers, or bath towel. Whether a necessity or not, everything in life means something to someone and has a meaning.