Community service is important in my life because I am able to see the need around. I come from a family who has dedicated their lives to serving others. Both of my parents are in the military, and my dad is a police officer. My mom also manages a food pantry through a local church. They have taught me so much about being selfless through their own actions.

When I first started volunteering it was at the urge of my parents. I used to hate it, I had to ride my bike to the sheriff’s office every day in the summer to sit at the welcome desk and direct people. I knew that that service project was not my calling. Though the sheriff’s office did need volunteer’s I felt like I could get involved in other ways that could also benefit my community. That’s when I started to put more of my heart into volunteering and to try to find a good fit for me, and my skills.

My mother’s unselfishness has always inspired me. Her and her friend started this tiny food pantry project back in 2002 and it is now one of the biggest food banks in our area. With the recent change in the economy, their demand has almost tripled, and their demographic has changed completely. They are now seeing more men and elderly coming in for groceries, as well as families from suburban neighborhoods. I used to think that the only people who went there for food were homeless people, or people unlike me. After getting involved there my frame of mind changed completely.

Volunteering at the food pantry really put a face on the need. Community service was not just an intellectual exercise anymore, but something I could really connect with. When I am there at the front desk it is easy for me to make connections; I am constantly being surprised with how many people I know use our food bank. People from my neighborhood come in, kids from my high school, and even some of my friends parents come in. It inspires me to see that I can do something to help these people who are not unlike me.

Spending time at the food pantry has also made me have respect for people of different economic and cultural backgrounds than myself. Often time’s women and men come in who can’t even spell their own names, or even speak English, but are working so hard to support a family who might be a thousand miles away. These people are the ones who are really hard working, and who deserve my life even more than I do. If I could just make anyone’s life a little easier by helping provide dinner for a week, then my experience was worth it. It is always a really humbling experience.

My family and I have been blessed. We never have to worry about what we’re going to eat for dinner, or if we’re going to have a bed to sleep in. I have a cell phone, my own room, and plenty of dry warm clothes to wear. I guess you could call me spoiled. But I believe when you are this blessed it is a responsibility to pass it along. That’s why there are absolutely no excuses why I shouldn’t do something good for someone else. Through community service I have become a more selfless person, and even gained a gratitude for what I have around me.

Community service is important to me because I feel that my head has gotten a lot smaller. I don’t judge people or pity people any more. Now I can look at a person and wonder what I can do to help them, and always do it with an understanding smile. It really drives me crazy when I hear people say that poor people are poor because they don’t try hard enough. If they could just spend one day volunteering at the food pantry and what kinds of hard working, dedicated people walk through that door I bet they would change their minds. There’s an old Indian saying “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins,” and I think community service has made this a reality. Not that I am walking in their shoes, but I am more enlightened to what their lives look like.

Volunteering one place can also raise awareness for needs for volunteering opportunities and service projects other places. There are a few schizophrenic people who use the food pantry, and it really has stimulated me to want to get involved with people with mental disabilities. Also people come in who are getting treatment for AIDS, or people who are homeless. It really makes you stop and think “What else can I do to help these people?”

I am not trying to say that volunteering at the food pantry is the only beneficial place to volunteer; it is just where I have found my niche. From meals on wheels to visiting people at the hospital, community service is important in all areas. There are people at hospitals that are not fortunate enough like me to have their family come visit them. Everyone has the ability to serve others, but sometimes it is important to find an area of community service that you can connect with, and build off of that.

When I asked my mother what serving meant to her, she responded, “I think it means to do something that helps somebody else with out there being any benefit to you.” I aspire to someday be as selfless and as giving as her. While my mother would sacrifice anything to help out a neighbor in need, I might not be to that point yet. But I hope that through continued efforts in my community, and with my ability to see the need in others around me, I can someday get to that point.