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| Students volunteering to cook dinner at the house |
I have now visited the Ronald McDonald House here in Lexington for my third and final volunteer experience. I can honestly say that it was a trying but rewarding experience to volunteer at an organization that provides services that are life changing for the families of those with children in the hospital. This visit to the house was the same as the others given that I was completing the same tasks as well as sealing and stamping over 100 envelopes, however this visit would prove to be different than the others. My third visit to the house was the most rewarding because there was a brief period where I was able to interact and talk with some of the families that were staying at the house as well as with some of the other people that volunteer at the house. This was a nice change of pace as I learned about some of the people that stayed there and their stories such as where they were from, how their child was doing and other things like that that made up their story. I also got a chance to talk with other volunteers and found out why some of them decided to work or volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House when they could have chosen several other organizations that do good work in the community. During the visit, since I had decided to do a 4 hour shift, I was asked if I wanted to stay for dinner and meet some of the guests that stayed at the house. I decided to take this offer and stay as it was a good opportunity to learn from some of the guests at the house. Talking to the people that stayed at the house was rewarding because they notice all of the work that the volunteers do to help keep the house running. I also got to talk with the wonderful ladies of the EKU ADPi who had cooked the meal that night. As I talked with them I learned why they had chosen to volunteer to cook meals and why they had chosen the Ronald McDonald House as their philanthropy. The third visit was the most rewarding because I was able to interact with others and I did not have to do just busy work the entire time that I was there.
Hey Andrew,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you had a better final experience. I understand the frustrations of being put into volunteer positions that require you to do what seems like useless and monotonous tasks alone, but I suppose they are necessary for the programs as a whole. I actually used to tutor and shelve books at my local library, and I hated shelving because I had to work alone in organizing and replacing books all throughout the library. It was a bothersome task, but I got through it by reminding myself that it was necessary for the function of the library as a whole. Regardless, it sounds like you ended on a great experience relative to your last. I know that you said your volunteer experience was "trying but rewarding," but I would just like to know if this final experience justified the rest of them? Would you consider doing it again or recommending that others do it? Do you think that your role as a volunteer was effective and useful?
Thank you!