VanessaAustin

Today we went back to the National Rescue Mission. We got a tour of the building and the classrooms that the men go to. The men that don’t have a GED are able to get one there. They have a wall that displays the pictures of the men that have graduated and made it through the rehab program. After the tour, we separated off into groups. A few of us went to help teach the men for their GED classes. Some more of us went to the kitchen and helped and some more of us went to help sort through the clothes that they hand out to the men who need them. My group went back down to the basement to finish sorting through the donated items.

I was kind of disappointed and angered when some of our volunteers didn’t want to participate in straightening up the basement. I guess they felt as if it were dirty work or something. I think that if you come on a volunteer service trip, then you should do what is asked of you no matter how much you really want to do it. No matter what you are doing, you are still contributing in some way. I just didn’t appreciate the fact that they were refusing to do some work.

But it felt good to look at the work that we had done. It was good to see all of the progress that we had made. The basement looks so different and I helped do that. We have cleared out so much of that stuff and helped them so much in getting rid of that stuff. I am really proud to say that I have had a part in that. It is personally rewarding to be able to say that I have helped the mission and that I have made a difference. That is what makes the service trip such a worthwhile activity. I am really glad that I decided to participate.