Wednesday, August 11, 2010

First day officially volunteering!

By Lizzette Melo-Benitez

Last week, I came to the Humanitarian Service Project in Carol Stream, IL for the first time. The company my mother works for, United Stationers, had a service day for Feed the Kids, which entailed loading the cars of families in need with food for the summer. The sincere demonstration of generosity I observed among the volunteers, as well as the expressions of gratitude given by the family members that day, impressed me so much that I asked to return for the rest of the summer. Having been raised by a hard working single parent, my mother instilled in my sister and I a sense of responsibility to help others when given the opportunity. Because I have previous experience in an office setting, I was very enthusiastic about returning to HSP to help around the office until the next round of interns start. Today has been a great first day. I’ve seen how everyone works collaboratively to ensure children and senior citizens receive gifts for their birthdays or just to meet their basic needs. Many people walked in to drop off their Senior Pal gifts and school supplies. Volunteers have come to sort through the donations and start getting ready to distribute school supplies to the kids soon. This is a wonderfully run facility, and I can tell everyone here loves what they do. I’m glad I can be of some assistance by answering phone calls and organizing the school supply requests HSP has received thus far. Well, that’s all for now. I’ll be back on Friday! (: 8-11-10 school supplies 007

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