In the festivity of Christmas lights and warmth in giving, my volunteer experience with The Salvation Army exposed me to deeper insight characterized by compassionate bonds that bind. Working as a volunteer for 50 hours, I gave Christmas presents to children who were in need and provided support by being a big brother role model. This paper reflects on what I have learned during my time volunteering with the organization and how it relates to values alignment, engaged citizenship, and personal growth.
My values, shaped by this course, deeply reflect my volunteering experience with the Salvation Army. According to Etzioni (2002), contributing to the common good is a fundamental aspect of societal development. Similarly, the values identified from a personal standpoint focus on empathy, altruism, and social responsibility, which are represented in the double role of gift-givers as well as support for choosing only poor children. This congruence between my values and the goals of that volunteering project helped me to participate in community work and be an active citizen whose conduct is reflected by what I’ve learned from theory.
My practice of engaged citizenship was manifested in my active involvement with community-oriented projects and volunteering for the Salvation Army. My volunteer efforts were to provide my time and energy to support disadvantaged children during the festive season, serving as role models and mentors. Moreover, I had dialogues with the community members to familiarize myself better and promptly find ways to address these needs well. Through engaging myself in such scenarios, I demonstrated acts of engaged citizenship, as posited by Pursuit of History (2019). My actions improved the lives of those who received volunteer services and contributed to cohesion and a collective sense of responsibility for positive change in the community.
The volunteer project by the Salvation Army has played a central role in more ways than one for both itself and those who served. With united strength, we managed to give Christmas gifts to children who were deprived of them and brought awareness of the actual value of nugget sentiments to the world crazy around us. This program contributed to developing the organization’s mission toward serving a community and showed their willingness to get better things rescheduled. Furthermore, on a personal level, my participation in the project enabled me to form lasting friendships with children and families we helped engage emotionally. Seeing the joy in children’s faces and hearing appreciation for volunteer services strengthened my conviction that volunteerism matters and encouraged me to keep changing lives.
After graduation, I will use the lessons from my volunteer work with The Salvation Army to serve communities meaningfully. This experience has developed a heart of empathy and compassion to seek the welfare of other people with its responsibility that forms the soil in which civic engagement and social responsibility are nurtured for me. I plan to continue volunteering and remain engaged in some of the initiatives that require me to give back on time, knowledge, and skills through mentoring programs, community service projects, or advocacy campaigns by making a positive impact in the lives of others.
In conclusion, volunteering with the Salvation Army has proven to be an incredibly enriching experience since it allowed me to serve my community and grow personally. Through acts of kindness and service, I have learned the power of compassion on both ends. In doing so, I will march on as a citizen concerned with transforming the state of things in other people’s lives.
Reference List
Etzioni, A. (2002). The good society. Seattle Journal for Social Justice https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/sjsj/vol1/iss1/7/.
Pursuit of History (2019). The duties and responsibilities of citizens. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2-QL59pVRo.
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