I am not great at making decisions. I spend hours weighing the choices I have, and I often regret my decision immediately after I make it. So naturally having to make a swift decision is stressful for me. The irony is that I’ve yet to regret a decision I had to make on the fly, and that was exactly why after I submitted my application to go on a BUCK-I-SERV trip over spring break I wasn’t worried.
I didn’t know about BUCK-SERV until one week before last spring break. When I figured out it exists, I was thrilled; it was exactly what I was looking for. I thought it was too late for me to participate that spring break. But then it turned out that some trips still had some open spots. I didn’t think twice about it. I filled out the application and submitted it that night and I am so glad I did.
I went with a group of about 10 students to Washington DC to volunteer with the organization Food and Friends for a week. I have always loved volunteering and found joy in helping others, but this experience exceeded all of my expectations and taught me so much. Food and Friends is an organization that prepares meals for patients who find it difficult to get their own food. The minute you walk into the building, you can sense the positivity radiating off of everyone there. The volunteers and employees worked with contagious enthusiasm that I didn’t want the week to end.
Everything I got to help with, from preparing meals, to packaging, and to delivering them felt important. I understood that by providing these meals I was making someone’s day so much better. This was clear to me especially when I got to deliver the meals. The appreciation I saw on the clients’ faces filled me with joy. This trip showed me how my services have a positive effect on people’s lives. From volunteering at Riverside Methodist Hospital and at Noor Free Clinic, I already knew that volunteering makes a difference. But this trip was different. At the hospital and free clinic, if I don’t volunteer, the nurses and staff can get my job done. For Food and Friends, however, volunteers pretty much run the show and without them, the organization couldn’t reach nearly as many clients as the do.
I always have, and will continue to, enjoy volunteering and providing services. Whether it be at the hospital, free clinic, or through a BUCK-I-SERV trip, in each of these opportunities to serve I am able to make someone’s day better. Getting someone a cold cup of water in a moment of desperation or helping new immigrants fill out registration forms doesn’t take much time or effort from me but on the other side it makes all of the difference for the people I am helping.