Community Service Project
Community service and volunteer work allow individuals within a community the opportunity to grow and help others, while also learning and benefiting from the task at hand. Volunteering presents a chance for people to spend their free time servicing and bettering the society in which they live in, giving them the agency or free choice to donate time to causes they support or believe in. In volunteering, you are shown the true interdependence of people who are willing to donate and share their time with the groups they are assisting. Not only do these tasks help aid the community, but they also provide the contributors who share their time with a feeling of contentment and joy. Volunteer work can increase overall well being, and, “ for many people, participating in any number of voluntary organizations or providing other forms of unpaid work can constitute an important and rewarding form of leisure,” (Crawford 2009 ). Volunteering also provides a specific role to the individual choosing to participate in sharing their time and partnering with an organization, which “shows that past volunteer service leads to the development of a “volunteer role identity” which in turn motivates future volunteer activity” (Hewitt 2001).
My chosen community service was to volunteer my time at community sales to help raise money for Animal Lovers Inc., of Three Oaks, which specifies and assists with rehoming animals and educating community members of how to care for pets, as well as funds for medical care and expense for the animals currently homed by staff members and other volunteers. I chose an organization that works to educate people in the community on how to care for pets and animals and provides medical aid and assistance for low-income families or individuals who cannot afford to pay for medical assistance for caring for their animals. I assisted in speaking with individuals about adoption and helping them see what animals might best work for them in their lifestyle, as well as helping adopt out cats and dogs looking for homes.
During my time volunteering, my supervisor Melanie Bush worked with our team to help educate the individuals who showed up to support and sponsor this cause, as well as instruct people on procedures for appropriate social distancing and distributing facemasks and sanitizer, since the sales occurred during COVID-19. Most of my volunteer time was spent working with other volunteers to set up our sales sites and speaking with customers and supporters who joined us once the sales began. I answered questions involving adoption and how to best care for new pets. I spent 6 and a half hours organizing and distributing products, and 5 service hours on the field with Melanie Bush as we went home calls of individuals who had animals that needed assistance, such as vet visits or health check-ins. We also took and distributed food and supplies to homeowners who had been impacted by the pandemic and could not afford food for their pets.
Volunteering at this organization was important to me due to the fact that since our country has dealt with the devastating impacts of COVID-19, many people have been left without jobs or the securities they previously had. Many individuals I spoke with were interested in adopting an animal simply because they had the time while being home more often to care for them. Having a pet during times of distress could potentially aid these individuals struggling during the impact of the virus, as “ Research shows there are physical and emotional benefits to owning a pet, especially for older people,” (Helmich 2014). The opportunity to help provide any sort of comfort or relief to families and individuals was a treasuring experience I will not forget. I understood that the social network for this organization is large and continuously expanding to other generous individuals willing to volunteer their money or time to help others. I will be volunteering my time more often in the future, as this project aided me in seeing both the personal and community benefits volunteer work can provide.
References
Crawford, G. (2009). Volunteers and volunteering. In S. H. Callahan, The SAGE dictionary of leisure studies. Sage UK. Credo
Nanci Helmich, (2014). A Little Puppy Love Can Enrich Life, Boost Health.
USA Today.
Thoits, P., & Hewitt, L. (2001). Volunteer Work and Well-Being. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42(2), 115-131.
