According to CBC, at least 30 000 Canadians are homeless on any given night. We see them in all our cities, and we always pass by them on our way to school and work. Even though we are always exposed to their plight, how many times have we actually stopped to help? I too, was guilty of this complete disconnection and disregard Canadians feel for those less fortunate than us. For this reason, I decided to volunteer at Loving Spoonful, a local charity.
In Kingston, over 15% of the population lives under the poverty line. Hundreds of people are homeless, and cannot afford fresh, healthy food. Loving Spoonful volunteers collect surplus fresh food from restaurants, grocery stores, food donations and local community gardens in order to aid those in need. As a volunteer, I was the team captain of the food collection division of the charity. The duties of our team involved: setting up Loving Spoonful's booth at the Farmer's market to receive food donations, informing the public of Loving Spoonful's upcoming events, selling tickets to the events (e.g. the Kingston Film Festival), and setting up for the events.
This opportunity was my one of my best experiences working as a leader for many reasons. First of all, I learned how to problem-solve on the spot. For example, when collecting food donations, we had to weigh all the food and pack them into plastic boxes. When we ran out of plastic boxes I went around to different stores in the area to ask them if they had any cardboard boxes they had not recycled yet. Secondly, I learned useful time management and organizational skills by helping the administrative team setting up and organize various events. And finally, hearing all the success stories of our efforts made all of our hard work worth every second, and gave me a sense of fulfillment. As the famous saying goes, "You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you." (1931/2500)
PS I have a limit of 2500 characters (spaces included). Thanks for looking this over!!
In Kingston, over 15% of the population lives under the poverty line. Hundreds of people are homeless, and cannot afford fresh, healthy food. Loving Spoonful volunteers collect surplus fresh food from restaurants, grocery stores, food donations and local community gardens in order to aid those in need. As a volunteer, I was the team captain of the food collection division of the charity. The duties of our team involved: setting up Loving Spoonful's booth at the Farmer's market to receive food donations, informing the public of Loving Spoonful's upcoming events, selling tickets to the events (e.g. the Kingston Film Festival), and setting up for the events.
This opportunity was my one of my best experiences working as a leader for many reasons. First of all, I learned how to problem-solve on the spot. For example, when collecting food donations, we had to weigh all the food and pack them into plastic boxes. When we ran out of plastic boxes I went around to different stores in the area to ask them if they had any cardboard boxes they had not recycled yet. Secondly, I learned useful time management and organizational skills by helping the administrative team setting up and organize various events. And finally, hearing all the success stories of our efforts made all of our hard work worth every second, and gave me a sense of fulfillment. As the famous saying goes, "You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you." (1931/2500)
PS I have a limit of 2500 characters (spaces included). Thanks for looking this over!!
