I volunteered for two different organizations for my service project, totaling up to about 7.5 hours. The first was MorningStar Mission, and with them I volunteered in a food pantry helping organize and box food for 3 hours, and the other was Habitat for Humanity, at which I went to one of their retailer locations and help load and unload their furniture for 4.5 hours.
The mission statement of MorningStar is "We believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible, ultimately authoritative Word of God. We believe there is one God, eternally existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is deity, that He was born of a virgin, that we are redeemed by His atoning death through His shed blood, that He bodily resurrected and ascended into Heaven, and that He will come again in great power and glory. We believe that men are saved through a direct, personal encounter with the risen Lord, at which time they are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. This event we hold to be an experience, rather than a doctrinal supposition. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whom Christ indwells each believer enabling him to live a godly life of obedience as he reaches for maturity. We believe the Holy Spirit unites all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and that together they form one body, the Church".
This is an organization that was founded in 1909 and serves to help the poor with worldly needs and those of a higher power. As they provide food, drinks, clothing, and shelter for the impoverished, they also spread the word of Jesus Christ and show thoughtfulness and compassion. They host many programs like the 180 club which helps break people free of alcohol and drug addictions or the East Side Cafe where they serve meals to the homeless.
http://morningstarmission.com/index.html
I was there for 3 hours on Saturday, February 21st, 2015. The location I went to was at 248 Republic Avenue, Joliet, IL 60435. I found this volunteer opportunity through my fraternity, and went there with 4 of my brothers. The other volunteers that were already there or showed up after us were all very friendly and there was a great deal of diversity amongst the group. There were all kinds of races performing the work and having conversations with one another and generally creating a very productive, friendly atmosphere. The main task we were responsible for completing was organizing all the donated food that Morningstar received. It came to us in massive cardboard boxes filled to the brim with non perishable foods and each contained just about anything that could be found in a grocery store. We were able to find and group similar foods (peanut butter, Macaroni and Cheese, certain flavors of canned soup, canned corn, etc.) and out them in a pile until it was big enough to get its own labeled box and be sent to a distribution center. Everyone that was there shared a common feeling of wanting to be able to help those less fortunate than ourselves. They were there by their own choice, so other than taking breaks to eat or chat with their fellow volunteers, everyone was very eager to do some work. Even the supervisors were willing to lend a helping hand and answered all questions very kindly. A positive interaction I had was speaking with one of the people I met there. It was a woman and she told me how she grew up poor but managed to work her way into a better position. It was very inspiring to see this woman passionately talk about something meaningful to her and it motivated me to work harder and appreciate my position in life more. I learned to be very grateful for the opportunities provided to me and to not take things for granted anymore. I tried to do this volunteer position again, but they were closed the second saturday I went.
The mission statement of Habitat for Humanity is "Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope."
Their mission principles are to "demonstrate the love of christ, focus on shelter, advocate for affordable housing, promote dignity and hope, and to support sustainable and transformational development". They are a nonprofit, international, and ecumenical Christian ministry. Even though they are christian, they promise to not proselytize or work with any company that does. They help everyone in need regardless of race o religion, and accept help from anyone willing to give it.
http://www.habitat.org
This took place on Saturday, May 2nd, 2015. I went to 200 S Larkin Ave, Joliet, IL 60436. I went to a retailer location where they sold a wide variety of furniture. Much of it was donated and then sold in the store in order to support the organization. Volunteers are a crucial part of the organization, but there weren't any there that day, so it was me working alongside several people that were earning wages for their service. They were all very friendly and lived in the area, but the diversity didn't vary as much as since most of the people were white or hispanic, with one very friendly african american woman working as a cashier. We all just communicated in order to get the work done in the quickest and most efficient way possible, and threw a joke in every now and then. Once that was done I went on a run all over will county to pick up some more furniture that was being donated. No one really complained because they were there to support themselves as well as try to help out their communities as much as possible and they understood the necessity and higher purpose. One effective interaction I had was when we left to do a run. It was only me and one other man in the car and at first I talked about my past and future goals and he was very supportive and encouraging, but then he told me about his past and how he made many mistakes. He was very regretful of all of them, including almost being unfaithful to his and smoking marijuana, but then talked about how he accepted jesus into his life and make a turn around. It was all inspiring and I was very happy for him. I learned that hard work pays off and that there are many people out there that are willing to sacrifice their time and energy to help others. I look forward to possibly going back there next year and even bringing some of my friends or fraternity brothers to help out.
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