Zoe S., Incarnation Catholic School
Helping Create Smiles
Throughout our lives, we are called to donate our time to help others. God calls us in many different ways to help others. Service gives us a sense of fulfillment and success once we have completed the project. I have had many opportunities to be involved in activities that allow me to help in a way that I enjoy. My most memorable service project was last year when I was able to help kids learn all about safety. It was a great way to work on my patience and responsibility, while still having a great time.
More specifically, the service I am talking about took place during the summer in a small middle school with many anxious kids. There were about fifteen volunteers and twenty-one kids. We all got paired with a child to help, and the one I was assigned made my service memorable. The little boy that I was partnered with, Matthew, was diagnosed with mild autism and he was slow with speech. Matthew was hard to get through to at first because he didn’t know anyone but luckily he took a liking to me immediately. The first day he struggled with learning but I was able to help him find ways to remember, then each morning I would go over what we learned with him. All the kids would get the opportunity to see the inside of a firetruck and he was getting very confused about everything in it. I was able to help make everything more clear and make it a fun experience for him. I was so glad to see his face when he finally got everything and he was so excited to understand and have fun with the other kids.
After a whole week of helping Matthew, I had a sense of fulfillment and knew that I had helped someone that really needed it. He had learned so many new things that week. I felt that I had made an impact on his life and he made an impact on mine. He was always so excited to see me every morning just as I was him. He was always happy and never let anything get him down and that was always so inspiring to me.
Working with all different services can be a great and memorable experience. Service is a great way to take time out of your day and help those who could use your help. I also was able to learn so much from Matthew about staying positive through all situations in life. I had such a sense of fulfillment after helping Matthew that week. Teaching kids about safety may not seem like the biggest thing, but the connection that you form with that little kid will have a huge impact on their lives.