What If It Were You?

Imagine a place where the business man is equal to the prostitute, where a homeless man is just as welcome as a child. Imagine a place where no one is turned away and if they are in need, they will receive help. A student who has no money, a mother who has no food for her kids, they can go to a place where food is waiting for them and anything else they may need is provided if at all possible. What if that person was you? How did you get to this point? There are endless circumstances that lead people to where they are in life and when it all comes down it, everyone should have a chance to get back on their feet. If it's a bag of food, a blanket, or just one meal, everyone deserves to be helped.

The Salvation Army is such a place and provides numerous services to help those in need. However, they rely on the volunteers like YOU to distribute help to those in need. Everyone goes through hard times in their lives as well as good times. It's the good times that determine how the bad times will affect you. If you are given the chance to help someone, take it. But don't just wait for chances to come to you, look for them yourself. What you give will be given back to you. 

Laura grew up in a home with an abusive, alcoholic father. In order to protect her family, Laura's mom would take her children to The Salvation Army because that was the one place they knew was safe for them. Laura says she was practically raised there. Her mother would tell her children that they must give back what was given to them and that's exactly what they did. Not only did Laura help when she was little, but she continues to do so today as an administrative assistant for The Salvation Army. 

Everyone is equal in need.  A business graduate is just as much a victim of life as a young mom with no education at all and they are both part of an operating community. A community involves everyone, not just a few people here and there, and for this reason, we all must do our part to help our community as best as possible. No one is above needing help and although you may think you won't need the help of a community organization, the reality is that you very well might.

We all have a duty to give back to our community what has been given to us or what may be given to us in the future. Volunteering of your time and energy is just the beginning of a domino-effect type of reaction that will eventually come back around to you. Even if you never need to go to a shelter to receive help or food, most likely someone you know will have to. No matter the situation, everyone deserves to have the chance to get back on their feet. You would want your chance so give someone else theirs.

Feel good, volunteer!

So now that you know how this economy will impact not only your community, but you as an individual, you may want to know what it's like to volunteer. Well, let me be honest, before I volunteered I did not have a sunny disposition on the matter. Especially because I felt like I was being forced to volunteer by my professor. I felt that it wasn't true volunteering because I wasn't actually voluntarily participating---it was for a class. I thought that cheapened it and began to think of it as slave labor. Haha, melodramatic, I know. But that's how I felt.

I know it's cliche, but I changed my attitude once I began helping. The first day we sorted canned and boxed food for the food pantry. We organized it by type of food, and so on. When we first arrived, the pantry was messy and disorganized. I don't know how they found anything in there! When we were finished it was clean, organized, and inviting. You knew exactly where everything was. Someone could just walk in and grab all their recipe ingredients no sweat! It's hard to explain the feeling I got when I looked at that organized pantry. I felt like I had actually accomplished something. The workers were so happy and grateful with what we had done. It gave me a sort of high; I felt good about not only the deed I had just accomplished, but I felt good about myself. It definitely gave me a self esteem boost!

Now I understand why it's important to volunteer. Not only are you helping other people, you're also helping yourself. By volunteering you're giving back to the community. You're providing people that have very little with something to help them get from one day to the next. A good meal will give them the strength to carry on through their day, and that strength will eventually help them pick themselves up and gain independence and security. And by volunteering, you will be garnering self-esteem in the process. That feel-good high you'll get from volunteering will carry on to other aspects of your life. You can take that positive energy and channel it into creating success for yourself both financially and mentally.