BrittanyRothausen

Brittany Rothausen

Homeless Service Reflection 4
March 10, 2009 – Day 4

Today my group went to a new work site called the music city mission. It was a very different experience from the other missions we visited; I didn’t get to interact with the participants, which is something I’ve really enjoyed about volunteering. In all honestly, I didn’t enjoy today’s work very much. I think the mission is doing very good work. They seem incredibly organized and provide a lot for people in need. However, I felt like the pastor who was directing us on what to do wasn’t as friendly as he could have been. He talked to us like he was constantly annoyed, which is understandable given how several members of our group weren’t working nearly as hard as they should have been. However, there were some of us that were working hard and it’s not enjoyable to have someone treat you like an incompetent employee when you’re volunteering your time. On the bright side, some people did get to see some families with children who came in to get clothes. It was nice to see people actually using the mission because it helped us feel like the work we were doing was actually important. Looking back, we really got a lot accomplished. We completed several projects and made a huge dent in the clothing that needed to be sorted. It was hard to feel good about the experience though, because I honestly can’t remember hearing a single “thank you” the whole day. I know that’s not what volunteering is about and I’m trying to not let it color my view of the day. On the whole, volunteering has been a very positive experience thus far; I think we’ve been able to make an impact with the work we’ve been doing and our efforts have been appreciated for the most part.