S: Service hours 2016-2017 year reflection

This year I did a little over the 20 hour requirement for service, I did 23 hours! Its not much more, but I think it makes it obvious how easy it can be to find some volunteer activity on campus. I could have done more of course, but I figured it would be best to get the minimum and then focus on school. Which has definitely paid off.

For my service hours I did a variety of things. I volunteered with Buckeyes for A Cause making bracelets for children at the Ronald McDonald House Charities and for Nationwide Hospital. I also went with them to make lunch at the Ronald McDonald House (grilled cheese and tomato soup!) and I had a blast working with them and being useful to others. I’ve also walked dogs at the pound with Partnering Up for Pets, and have gone to the Pay it Forward MLK Day and Spring into Action events. On one occasion I also helped my boss set up for TeachOhio. I’ve done a lot these past two semesters from multiple different backgrounds. The diversity of my experiences has given me insight into what I prefer to do, and what I believe to be most meaningful.

While I loved going to Ronald McDonald house and feeding the families that live there, and I enjoyed the MLK day and Spring into Action events I think the most meaningful work I did was through Partnering Up for Pets (PUP). PUP is more than just walking dogs, and is genuinely tiring and frustrating. These dogs are stuck for hours in cages at the Franklin County Dog Shelter not able to burn off energy or go to the bathroom whenever they want. A lot of these dogs were strays, or had just been abandoned by their owners and left in unfamiliar and hectic surroundings. And the Shelter is very hectic and loud. Dogs never seem to stop barking, either at each other or the humans who walk by. But walking these dogs is so important. Without volunteers these dogs wouldn’t get the chance to walk and relieve some of that energy. They also wouldn’t be able to relieve themselves outside, and therefore their cages would be messy and any progress in house breaking them would be lost. These walks are more than just potty breaks though, they’re also a chance to teach proper leash behavior and to socialize these dogs. We keep treats on hand for when we get them to sit or go through other necessary “tricks” that make them more adoptable, and when there’s a shy dog we sit in their cages and read to them to help them grow more comfortable with humans. I know this doesn’t have much to do with my major (dietetics), and I’m not even working with humans, but its still the most meaningful work I’ve done so far. These dogs are hard to deal with, not because they’re bad or purposefully upsetting me, just because they’re having a rough time. They frustrate me and bring me to tears when they don’t listen or I feel like I’m failing them. They jump and chew the leash, unable to comprehend that what they’re doing is upsetting and that I’m only trying to help. They leave me muddied and questioning why I keep coming back. But in all of this frustration and confusion, I’m learning valuable lessons that I can use in my career and day to day life. I learn how to deal with frustrating situations and how to calm myself in turmoil in order to get the job done. I learn to handle failure and ask for help when I don’t know what to do. I learn how to communicate to those who don’t have my level of understanding, and to have the patience to work them through it a hundred times if necessary. And at the end of the day, when I’m leaving and contemplating never coming back, I remember how happy they were to see me, how excited they were to go outside, and how sad they were to watch me go. Sometimes, its the things that frustrate you the most and are the hardest to do that have the most meaning in life. Every day I go back to walk those dogs I learn a little more, and I go home worn out but knowing I did something meaningful that changed lives in what seems to be small, but means so much.