Columbia Essay on an active role in my community. A sock drive for a local homeless shelter

Columbia students take an active role in improving their community, whether in their residence hall, classes or throughout New York City. Their actions, small or large, work to positively impact the lives of others. Share one contribution that you have made to your family, school, friend group or another community that surrounds you. (200 words or fewer)*

Socks

Socks. Now I know what you're thinking, what about "socks" says improving my community? Desperately needed and commonly overlooked, socks are a highly requested item in the homeless population. This is what inspired my friend and I to create a school-wide sock drive for "Socktober". We gave ourselves a month to collect 1500 pairs of socks for a nearby homeless shelter, and immediately began advertising anywhere we could. Posters hung on every wall of our school and weekly announcements headlined our drive. We spoke at pep rallies, posted on every social media platform, and created a competition within the student body where the house that donated the most socks would get house points (think Harry Potter house system). Kids began bringing in hundreds of socks, and we ended up with over 2000 pairs! I'll never forget the look on the shelter coordinator's face when I opened my trunk and socks began falling out. He gave me the longest hug I've ever received in my life and thanked us profusely. Socktober has now become a yearly tradition at my school, and I hope to continue making small impacts like these wherever I go.

I like this essay. It is engaging, informative, and fun to read. You pretty much covered all of the important points in relation to the project you undertook. You used just enough words to explain yourself clearly, bringing the reader along with you for the trip. Since this is a 200 words or fewer essay, I can tell you that it works well. Except for one small detail. Avoid the "We" in the presentation and use the "I" throughout. This is not a statement about the team. The discussion should focus only on your participation. So be specific about what you contributed to the fund raising activity. Don't jump around from "We" to "I" and back again. Still, excellent effort. This works well. With a slight adjustment, it should be even better.