January Blog

January Community Service Hours: 5

During the month of January, I was able to participate in two community service events. On January 18, I participated in the MLK Day of Service in New Orleans with a group of volunteers from ICNA New Orleans. We went to City Park and contributed in cleaning up along the Winser Trail. We met several volunteers while cleaning our city and remembering the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This was a particularly gratifying community service opportunity for me. Normally, I would simply take MLK Day as a holiday and sleep in. A friend sent me an invitation over email that had "A day on, not a day off" written right at the top and, to be honest, it struck a cord with me. I felt guilty for not being a part of the day of service in previous years. The sense of community was overwhelming and encouraging. The month of January has been ripe with political and economic conflict. Seeing the people of New Orleans come together and make a conscious effort to establish a sense of belonging in the community was heartwarming. I truly look forward to taking a part of the MLK Day of Service in 2022. 

Earlier in the month on the 7th, I was also able to participate in another food drive at Vineyard Church in Kenner with the help of ICNA New Orleans. Similarly to the last food drive, we distributed food to at least 250 families. I handled a lot of heavy lifting like in November and December. I've gotten used to using the pallet-jack and forklift, so, things were a bit more streamlined this time around. In the three times that I've been to Vineyard Church to help distribute food, I realized how crucial having a support system within a community truly is. I had seen several of the same cars throughout the different food drives. There are families desperately depending on the help of other people; the beauty is that there are always people willing to help. The world feels like it's lacking a bit of empathy right now. So, being surrounded by volunteers was truly refreshing. 

AF


Total Hours for Spring Semester: 5 hours




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