This month's volunteering activities were quite exciting as it was extremely reminiscent to when I started volunteering in the 5th grade. One of the very first places I volunteered for was Second Harvest Food Bank. I could remember that day as if it were yesterday. We spent the morning sorting cans down an assembly line into its respective boxes and it turned into a competition to see which teams could could pack the most palettes. Of course, my team won! Although I never got to return to Second Harvest, it sparked my interest and desire to start volunteering.
I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to come back to Second Harvest to volunteer. Sadly, there was no competition. However, I got to help out in the community kitchen where I was assigned to help prepare senior meals. Ms. Pearla and May (I'm not sure if that's how her name is spelled) were extremely helpful and gave me instructions and advice on how to successful pack the meals and I was placed at the end of the assembly line. My job was to pack sixteen meals with sixteen cartons of milk into a box and pack them onto the palette. There, I met a few other students from various age groups and fields who came to Second Harvest to help out.
I also returned to Second Harvest to complete a few hours in their garden area. However, I must admit that I came back on the wrong day, but that did not mean they sent me on my way! Although I came on the wrong day, there was much to do and I was asked if I wanted to go ahead and start cleaning up the front area of the building. There, I was shown the garden and hydro-towers used to grow the lettuces. Also, the garden was used to grow various vegetables and herbs. To my delight, I found it extremely reminiscent of the garden my dad has at home. Some of the things I had to do in garden maintenance was uproot several of the large plants and clear stems that seemed to be taking up space. Below are a few pictures and a video.
One of the last things I had to do was start a new tray of lettuce seedlings. It was probably one of my favorite activities as it was easier than uprooting a small tree. I first soaked the foam-like plates in water and proceeded to sprinkle seeds after emptying the tray of water. Overall, this month's activities were extremely fun and I've been enjoying this program despite falling victim to flu season. My goal for the next two weeks is to finish my volunteer requirements and finish the semester strong with the upcoming test.
November hours: 8
Cumulative: 16
As we prepare to end our semester, I have been preparing to finish these last few weeks strong before relaxing this coming holiday. A few of activities I participated in was garden maintenance at Second Harvest. Each day is a new project. However, since it was the end of the week and the main projects were completed, I ended up weeding the gravel. I worked with another volunteer name Paige and she helped me get situated with the process. By the end of the day, despite having only weeded around several hydroponic towers, I felt quite accomplished with the boxes I accumulated in my time there.
A few days later, I showed up to my volunteer shift at the hospital. However, I had no idea what was in store for me. Instead of helping patients as I normally would, I was placed into a room to sort and box toys for a toy drive the hospital was holding. But after a drowning in toys for a few hours, the toys were mostly packed into 32 boxes with many toys hanging out as the hospital ran out of boxes. Although I nearly cried at the sight of the room upon walking in, I felt extremely accomplished as I put my organization skills to use for this toy drive.
That same afternoon, despite being tired from swimming in toys, I went to volunteer at church with my dad. When I was in high school, I used to come here each weekend as a teacher assistant. Eventually, I became a teacher for the Kindergarten class. This past weekend, I helped out my dad during the classes to help teach the students Vietnamese as many of the younger students are learning Vietnamese as a second language.
Additional Hours: 9
Cumulative: 25
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