Community Service, Yeah!

Community Service Narrative

            In order to service the community, I volunteered at the St. Mary's Food Bank in Phoenix. St Mary's provides food for the homeless or jobless without charge, provides organizations with an easy way to donate to the community, and provides benevolent humans with the opportunity to give back to society by helping those that are less fortunate. As one of the bunches of volunteers they receive daily, I was given the task of working at their Knight Transportation center, the final point of St. Mary's operations: where the food is given out in carts to the families that need it most. When I first arrived, I begun with the simple job of pushing carts out for the homeless, whether to their cars, bikes, or other forms of transportation, and then helping them load these goods into wherever they had room. In some of these cases, I did not move the food from the cart into a car or other boxes, as they may have not owned them or did not have the money to pay for a taxi to their destination; in this event, I helped pack the items into a more manageable form for them to carry. However, pushing carts and loading supplies was not my only task; after more volunteers began to leave by the end of the day, I was taught how to load the food into the carts. The senior volunteers that were still around showed me how much of each item to put in each cart, where to get these supplies, and even how to make the more complicated orders for families with more children, special needs, and with senior citizens. With each "thank you" and "God bless you" that I received from both the people I delivered food to and by the other volunteers, these jobs truly made me feel as if I was making lives easier, especially in the economic recession that our country is experiencing.

Community Service Civic Duty Summative

            In as large of a country as the United States, civic duty is incredibly important for society to function effectively. Civic duty is defined as the responsibilities of a citizen, including voting, volunteering, paying taxes, and joining or supporting the military, among other things.

            Voting is one of the greatest examples of civic duty in America. Although they are not directly affected by voting, citizens are able to change the fate of their community, county, state, and country through a simple action. As a democracy, the United States runs on the desires of the people, which is reflected in the politicians that are voted into office. In order to make sure that the general populace is content with who is leading the country, whether in the white house or in Congress, polls open for the average citizen to vote for what they want. Although many do not exercise their right to vote, those that understand their responsibility keep the government in check instead of letting it control the populace.

            Volunteering is not something that many people think about, and even a smaller amount of people choose to participate in the helping of others for free. However, volunteering provides a great service for society, especially in hard economic times. When money is in short supply, volunteers provide the necessary labor to complete the things that society will need to maintain its current state. Volunteering can affect many different areas of society, though it is highest in supply for the help of those that are less fortunate.  In the United States in 2008, there were approximately "between 2.3 and 3.5 million people [experiencing] homelessness" (Facts). In order to provide for these people that may not have been able to carry a steady job or pay for medical care, organizations such as homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and food banks exist to allow them the chance to get back on their feet, but also to keep them from turning to lawless acts and even death on the streets.

            One of the least enjoyed aspects of society yet also highly beneficial for the nation, taxes are a small amount of money paid by each person on item purchases that end up amounting to large sums. These pools of cash are used to pay for multiple important areas of government; in 2008, "the Department of Health and Human Services received $69.3 billion...the Department of Education received $56 billion...the Department of Housing and Urban Development received $35.6 billion...[and] the Department of State and other international programs received $35 billion" (Betters). Parts of the federal budget also go into "Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare and unemployment" (Betters), all of which both directly and indirectly affect each citizen in society at some point during their life. Without the contribution that each person gives by paying taxes, people would be forced to take a much more active role in every area of their life, from health care to building their own houses, and would have less time to work in other areas of society.

            Society's infrastructure is not the only focus of civic duty; the defense of the nation is just as important as how well the nation runs. Although men must register for the army when they turn 18 in case of a draft, joining the army by one's own will allows the country to maintain a moderate level of security without forcing the responsibility onto those that cannot handle it or can provide better for society in other ways.

            Although not desired by every member of a nation, civic duty provides the stability that countries such as the United States needs to advance. With key necessities such as security and a working, regulated government that provides for the welfare of its citizens, a society is able to focus on ways to increase the quality of life of its members.

Community Service Civic Duty Analysis

            Without community service, where would our nation be? Few might say that we would experience better times, while others would argue that our society would be in shambles. However, one might also ask: what is more reasonable? Community service provides labor at little or no cost to each person involved and can not only help our society but also can help us grow as human beings.

            As I volunteered at St. Mary's Food Bank, I noticed both the positive and negative implications of the work I was doing, specifically in the sense of who exactly was receiving the goods I put together. While some of the families I was able to talk to told me of their troubles with finding jobs or low-cost housing, others clearly had no intention of finding work or helping society. These people were mainly those with drug addictions or very generous friends and family that were willing to provide for them, despite their inability to help them in any way. When helping them with their food, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of regret, as if the food should have gone to someone that would use it to get back on their feet instead of as just a necessity to stay alive while they lounged around or until they could get another hit. However, I was certainly surprised by how few of these people there were at the food bank; most of those that came in seemed to have every intention of attempting to find a source of income, as long as they could survive until the time came that they attained a job.

            Volunteering did not simply benefit those that I handed out food to. My fellow volunteers, whether they were there by choice or forced to due to a court decision or school project, were very noticeably affected by the people they met and the tasks they were completing. Being around some of the poorest people in Phoenix seemed to bring their own lives into a new light, helping them to appreciate what they had. There were also some volunteers that used to be in the same predicament as those we were helping out, causing them to want to help out others as they were once. Looking at those at St. Mary's, it was quite easy to empathize with how each of them felt. As I loaded up carts and pushed them out afterwards, everyone carried a smile on their face. Every emptied cart was accompanied with a "thank you," even from those that knew very little English. Every person wants to experience happiness, and to receive it by such a simple action is truly remarkable.

            Of course, civic duty cannot be completely beneficial for society. The food had to come from somewhere, and could have been sent elsewhere to more needy people that would have provided a better service for their community. Although ending hunger and essentially saving lives, food banks also provide for the jobless and homeless to survive while giving little back to society. They may be useful in good economic times by completing the jobs that most average Americans would not want to attempt, such as construction and other areas of manual labor, but they are largely a nuisance to the community and can possibly pose more problems in poor times than solutions when the economy is great. With increased joblessness comes desperation, leading to an increased desire for survival which can cause crime to become much more prominent, even in areas of town that were once considered safe. This not only causes more trouble for local police forces but also hinders the ability of certain citizens to work, whether to stabilize society or return to a level of economic prosperity.  

            Essentially, volunteerism and civic duty go hand-in-hand. My time at St. Mary's, as well as the time given by my fellow volunteers, was wisely spent. While those that we helped were given hope, we were also given the ability to experience a moment in their lives and improve the poor state of our society at this point in time.

 Myself before St. Mary's after helping a family place their food items in their car and heading back inside for another load.

 One of the volunteers, directing cars to open parking spaces in the busy parking lot.

 The Knight Transportation Community Service Center for St. Mary's Food Bank, the place where the families finally get their supplies.

 Relaxing before I push out the next cart.

 The different types of carts filled depending on the needs of the families, each one based on a certain family size as well as other factors.

 Myself again, happy to be helping out the less fortunate.

Just a few of the many volunteers I met while working, ready to push out carts for the needy.