Recently, I was given the opportunity to become involved in a local community food drive. This food drive was held at Culver City High School, with the main purpose being to help distribute food to those who could not afford it. At first, my perception of volunteering at this event was that it would be something that was neither fun nor exciting. I blindly signed up, and was not too excited about attending it. Once there, I met the other volunteers. It was a group project, so we all needed to work together to make sure that every family would get the food that they needed. One group of volunteers would organize food containers while another group would load them into the families vehicles.
The first step, once arriving, was to organize all of the food so that it would be easier to hand out. After the volunteers had finished organizing the food for distribution, it was time to load the packages of food into families’ cars. As the start time of the food drive approached, cars started to trickle into the distribution site. Volunteers loaded trunks with boxes of food and wished each car a good Thanksgiving. The families would reply with a grateful, “Thank you, have a nice Thanksgiving.” Everytime I heard that phrase, I got a feeling of warmth and happiness. I had not expected it, but I felt emotionally well knowing that I helped many families receive a basic necessity. I did not receive a medal or money at the end of the event, however, I walked away with something far more priceless: the joy you receive by helping others.
By participating in my school’s food drive I learned a fruitful lesson. Life is a long and bumpy road. All vehicles on that road will occasionally run out of gas or will slow down from an old engine. I cannot say what lies at the end of that road, however the one thing that motivates many of us to find out is the people who surround us. By participating in my school’s food drive I feel like I helped fuel someone’s car so they could reach the end of the long, bumpy road we all share. Helping people does not mean you have to save them from a burning building or become a doctor; I was able to help families by providing them with food. Please, I urge you to involve yourself in any way to help others, but there is a warning. You might get addicted to helping others.
