On October 7th I was able to participate in a service project through the Habitat for Humanity Club at OSU, my first big service project of the semester! We were responsible for organizing bags of supplies for Safe Point, a safe needle exchange program in Columbus, OH. What sounded like an easy and quick project, ultimately ended up lasting around five hours. It was extremely tedious and time-consuming, and I was only responsible for a small portion of the supplies. With huge outreach made by Safe Point every day, it is a miracle that they have enough supplies prepared, and they must run their supply organization almost entirely on volunteer work.
This project made me realize how extensively volunteer work holds up a lot of charitable organizations in the world. I had previously thought that most organizations only used volunteers for special occasions, or when absolutely necessary, that the groups could sustain themselves even in the absence of volunteers. Realistically, however, volunteer work is absolutely essential to the success of so many organizations. Although I have been an active volunteer in the past, this experience has made me aware of the cruciality of service in that capacity, and excited to continue helping my community through volunteering!