March Blog

March: 5 hours of community service
   
    Despite the feeling of the COVID-19 pandemic slowly coming to an "end" with more groups of people eligible for vaccination, the community service opportunity I participated in this month reminded me of the stark reality that people are still severely struggling due to the ramifications of the virus. On March 27th, I was able to participate in the largest food distribution that I have been a part of this year; the volunteer opportunity came to be through a collaboration between CRC Global Solutions, D&R Community & Youth Institute, and Islamic Circle of North American Relief. The food drive took place at Belle Terre Playground in Marrero. Starting at 8:00 AM, we began to unload two semi-trucks full of produce and bag the groceries into individual packages for families. This took a little more than two hours; I did more unloading than I did bagging because there was a significant amount of heavy lifting involved. The food distribution itself began at 10:30 AM and lasted for about three hours. It was overwhelming how many cars were lined up and how long they were willing to wait to get groceries. The mixed emotions of altruism in being able to help those in need but not knowing if I was doing enough to make a significant difference resulted in personal cognitive dissonance. Those emotions dissipated as the day went on; the more I interacted with the families waiting in line, the more I began to realize that my contribution, no matter how big or small, had some sort of an impact on those I helped. Initially, the E-Portfolio Course seemed like any other course that I had to complete to get my degree. However, with each passing month, I genuinely find myself developing more of a passion for community outreach. I hope to continue this habit as the year continues. 

AF


Total Hours For Spring Semester: 15 hours

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