Helping others make a better life for themselves has always been an underlying drive in
Helping others make a better life for themselves has always been an underlying drive in
Having the opportunity to feel as though you’ve truly made a positive impact on the lives of others is undoubtedly a rewarding experience, and this was exactly what I was seeking when I signed up for an eight day community service trip to Puerto Rico. What I ended up receiving, however, was far more enriching, humbling, and life-altering than I had originally expected. Our main task was to make batches of cement for houses a day in the community of Villa del Rillo. Lots of Puerto Rican houses, mostly in the poorer areas, still haven’t recovered from the effects of Hurricane Hugo, which hit the island almost three decades ago. Difficult manual labor directly under the oppressive heat for hours every day left us sore, dirty, and tired, but gratified.…
I have donated time in my city, state, country and internationally. Through the many opportunities that I have had for community service, I have been able to broaden my views, and look outside my community at how others experience our world. I have visited very diverse communities ranging from the inner city of Detroit, MI to a small, economically depressed village in Honduras, to the mountains of Pennsylvania and inside homes very different from mine in my own…
Poverty in Memphis soars above the natural rate, but is sometimes overlooked and pushed under the rug by most. According to Bruce Kennedy at CBS News, Memphis ranked as number four among poorest cities in the United States. Elena Delavega, assistant professor at The Mid-South Family & Community Empowerment Institute, shows eye opening statistics that the Memphis poverty rate at 29.8% is above average as compared to the United States poverty rate at 15.5%. On a local level, the City of Memphis poverty rates are higher than poverty rates in Shelby County. Tom Charlier, a writer for the Commercial Appeal, says that Memphis has the second highest metro poverty rate in the entire country.…
For our civic engagement project for the Redefining Leadership class, my group, Stephanie, Hailee, Christina, and I, decided to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House in New Haven, Connecticut on a Thursday. Before we got there, we did not know what to expect, but afterwards, we truly felt grateful that we helped out a great cause. The Ronald McDonald House is a charity house that keeps families close to their family members that are being treated at a nearby hospital. We spoke with someone who works at the House and she told us that eight families were there on that day. We were able to see some people and did what we could to help out.…
We all have disparate opinions about the way someone looks, talks, or dresses. For example, Anna, my sister is usually looked at through a repulsive angle. She is looked at this way because of her congenital birth defect, spina bifida. When I look at Anna, I see a passionate individual who has managed to constantly battle challenges that have been placed in her life. Although, the story I intend to tell is who Anna really is, and what we have done for each other.…
RivCoh bizceed.jp 1. What is your story and how it led you to create your own business? Being the Founder and CEO of River Cohen Giving, I have found a vehicle to promote and support various critical causes targeted at benefitting the masses. My passion for business and philanthropy is informed by need to establish lifelong partnership with leaders in the community and non-profit organization that are committed to improve the lives of people at the grass root. I make this possible by donating my time and money along with other resources.…
Directly after Hurricane Katrina, I visited my family in Louisiana for six months. In this short time I spent with my aunt, I witnessed more poverty and devastation than a newspaper headline could ever offer. I recall crawling through the streets of Layfette glazing silently at a child playing with her shoe, as she had no toys to play with. Walking inside a half vacated half vandalized mall reminded me of a TV western ghost town. My cousin saw I was uneasy from the disparity of the town, so she offered me to come to her day camp center to help out.…
Ever since I was a little fourth grader at Brookview Elementary, I have been heavily involved with the Boone Progressors 4-H club in Dallas County. I have been an active member of my club by holding offices as part of the leadership team. Over my years in 4-H, I have been our club’s photographer, secretary, vice president and our current president. I have also helped plan our club’s activities and service projects. Some of our service projects have included Meals from the Heartland, Operation Christmas Child, Adopt-A-Family, picking up walnuts in the yards of elderly in Waukee, making Christmas and Valentine’s Day cards for residents at Waukee retirement homes - amongst many others.…
I am the first-born son of first generation immigrant parents. Through there sacrifice I have been able to complete my bachelors in Management for Loyola and my Masters of Science in Software Engineering. Outside of my professional and educational life I have always been a person how like to give back to my community. Now what is different about me is that I practice my good deeds by helping people outside of the realm of community centers. I believe that charity doesn’t always have to be within the realm of charity organizations.…
I wanted to continue helping others like I did for him, because it brings me a sense of pride and satisfaction of doing something to change the world, even if it’s small. I gave him 3 dollars and in return he gave me a passion. Last November, Citrus Hill High School had a food drive called “Give Back to Our Community” for the less fortunate. I volunteered to help…
Florida project over winter break. The focus of our project was farm workers rights and with that issue came an additional emphasis on immigration rights since many of the farm workers were undocumented immigrants. I learned a lot over the course of the project, both about the issue and about working in a community, but most of all I learned the need for awareness. Since coming back from the trip, I have realized that the most important thing I could do would be to inform and educate others about the issue. For this reason, I want to be a social justice leader and be able to help raise awareness because I would say for the most part it’s not like people don’t care about social justice issues, it is just that they don’t know about…
During my time at the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives, I experienced a different setting in which I was given a great amount of independence and responsibility. I helped manage Day to Serve, an annual initiative, that our office coordinates on behalf of the Governor of Maryland. I worked with two other interns and we were given almost complete autonomy in overseeing this huge program. I connected with many community leaders and nonprofit, business executives to network Day to Serve with organizations across Maryland such as non-profits, faith institutions, corporations, and the Maryland public school system. We planned and hosted events in relation to Day to Serve such as press conferences, webinars, and service events.…
As individuals we consist of only small components of a bigger picture; however, we all have the capability of making an immense impact. After volunteering at the Rose Parade two years ago, I was inspired to create Blankets for Hope, an organization that provides blankets to individuals without homes. Scattered across the venue’s sidewalks and under makeshift tents, were an untold amount of bodies curled up together. Shocked, I saw people walk past them as if they were a piece of the daily scenery. Blankets for Hope began when I refused to accept this sight as the norm of everyday life.…
I felt the need to support them since I was fortunate enough to be born in a loving family. As there are so many orphanages around my area, they always need funding to support. With the help of my parents and my effort, I started to set up donation events every year on my birthday. My volunteering experience at an orphanage in my city of Mandalay has been phenomenal. Every weekend I invest my time into teaching…
Volunteering at the homeless shelter is one of my favorite things to do. A few weeks ago, on a serene Saturday morning, my family and I volunteered at Loaves and Fishes. It was special to see just the sheer amount of people who had come out to volunteer on that Saturday. If you think about, they could’ve been doing anything on that Saturday morning. Yet, they decided to help give back to their community.…