When given an organization that no student has “good luck” with, my initial perception was skewed. Yet, after volunteering for the past several weeks, I have gained a new outlook on life and have a different perception of society. I learned the most from the volunteers rather than the people using my internship’s services. Life is full of all kinds of obstacles that people face. The most valuable thing I have learned is that anyone can bounce back from an unfortunate turn of events; all it takes is dedication and a little bit of help along the way. The organization I volunteered at attempts to be that helping hand to aid people’s success. Even thought they have a religious foundation, that does not come into play when they are actually providing a service to the community.

Volunteers do not necessarily do it for the fact that the cause is a good on; people volunteer for themselves most of the time. This being said, the people I have met because they had to volunteer were more interesting than the people who came to receive services. The volunteers have gone through everything we have talked about in class but have turned it around somewhat to have a place to live but they still have to pay back the societal debt that they owe. Based off of their mission and goals, my internship lives up to everything they promise. Yet, the way in which they complete those tasks do not seem to be aligned with the image they hope to convey. It is hard work day in and day out to provide these services to those who need it. Yet, this kind of “work” should be viewed as help rather than a burden in a schedule.

The point and intended purpose of this internship was supposed to be learning about the structure of these organizations and how they live up to their mission. However, the internship caused me to learn more about the societal structures of poverty and homelessness, how even in this situation there are people who exert dominance, and how picky people with nothing can be. Additionally, the “work” that I did was just manual labor of lifting boxes, filling them with food, and taking them to people’s cars.

I value the feeling of helping others and this experience heightened that feeling and more. The internship allowed me to go out of my comfort zone due to the fact I have never volunteered somewhere by myself. Being alone through this process  enabled me to reflect and appreciate my time that much more. Hunger and homelessness are issues that will not be resolved in my lifetime. However, I know that I am able to do my part in helping where need be. Now, I know that others are out there to help as well; the difference lies in intent and the effect of the service. This passion I have for the issues surrounding hunger and homelessness will always be instilled within me and I know I will continue serving my community in one way or another because of my internship.