Reflective Essay: Why I Give Back To My Community

I have opted to donate some of my time to give back to my community that I live in. In Mt. Zion Illinois, lays an assisted living facility known as the “Glenwood.” When I went into their office to ask them if it was permissible for me to do volunteer work, they made me aware that this is an organization is a for profit organization. That means all the employees are getting paid to do all of the work that they do, and the price to live here is going to be more expensive for the residents due to having staff members available 24/7 around the clock. I asked, “how much charity work is done here,” and Lisa Schmitz the Administrator said, “There is not many people that opt to come in for free other than churches and some bands that hold activities for free, most of the people that come in get paid a certain amount.” I thought this was surprising because I personally thought more people would want to help the elderly, so I asked if I could help maybe hold a …show more content…
There was this old man named “Russ,”(I cannot give last names due to confidentiality) this man I noticed was covered head to toe in cubs apparel. I thought this was funny because I am a Cardinal’s fan myself and I knew I could maybe joke around with him. It turns out he ventures out to the end of the road everyday in a uniform and waves cubs flags at traffic passing by the facility. He was extremely grateful for me volunteering and me and him talked about baseball for a good while, he then asked me my last name and I said “Heise,” it turns out he remembered my dad when he was little because he was the mailman that delivered mail to him everyday. It’s a small world we live in. But this man as well as other residents loved to talk my ear off and tell me their life stories and the dos and don’ts of the world. This somewhat made me sad because I knew that I was making these peoples’ day, which their family hardly ever come see