When first prompted with the assignment to volunteer 20 hours somewhere off the University of Minnesota’s campus, I was quite stressed out because I was not sure how I would find the time. However, as I was reading through the list of possible locations to volunteer, one particular place grabbed my attention. The name of this place was Waite House, and thankfully it is the organization where I am currently engaging in my service-learning. Waite House is located in the Ventura Village neighborhood within the Phillips community in Minneapolis. This organization caught my attention because not only was it relatively a short commute on the public transit system, but the description mentioned youth fitness and obesity/diabetes prevention. Not only
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Although I have only volunteered there for two days I have been providing help and ultimately feeling as though I have a bigger purpose here on Earth. However, sometimes this feeling fades away when people attempt to take advantage of the offered resources at Waite House. I first noticed this during the coat drive Waite House hosted. In order to receive free coats and school supplies for the youth, families had to register ahead of time with the names and ages of their children. However, during the check-in process, we had many people get back in line trying to sign in under another name they saw on the list to obtain additional coats that they could sell in the streets. It was disappointing to see that individuals were attempting to take advantage of the coat drive at Waite House, especially when there are numerous families in need of coats for their children. No one took the initiative to tell the people that were trying to take advantage of Waite House that their actions were not appropriate, so I took it upon myself to send them away. Telling people to leave was difficult because many of them were in desperate need of money, clothes, and the basic necessities. These families did not seem to know any better than what they were doing and it was heartbreaking to have to send them away. However, this is the biggest leadership lesson I have learned so far from my service-learning experience: No matter how hard it may be from an emotional standpoint, sometimes you have to be the one to take initiative and make the situation
Although I have only volunteered there for two days I have been providing help and ultimately feeling as though I have a bigger purpose here on Earth. However, sometimes this feeling fades away when people attempt to take advantage of the offered resources at Waite House. I first noticed this during the coat drive Waite House hosted. In order to receive free coats and school supplies for the youth, families had to register ahead of time with the names and ages of their children. However, during the check-in process, we had many people get back in line trying to sign in under another name they saw on the list to obtain additional coats that they could sell in the streets. It was disappointing to see that individuals were attempting to take advantage of the coat drive at Waite House, especially when there are numerous families in need of coats for their children. No one took the initiative to tell the people that were trying to take advantage of Waite House that their actions were not appropriate, so I took it upon myself to send them away. Telling people to leave was difficult because many of them were in desperate need of money, clothes, and the basic necessities. These families did not seem to know any better than what they were doing and it was heartbreaking to have to send them away. However, this is the biggest leadership lesson I have learned so far from my service-learning experience: No matter how hard it may be from an emotional standpoint, sometimes you have to be the one to take initiative and make the situation