Pulling up to the parking lot on September 10th, 2011 for the Stockton Day of Service, I did not know what to expect. I had missed the registration date and had accepted the fact that I might not be able to get into a group that I would have in mind. The registration line was not too long and I decided to join Circle K. I still did not know what it was but I was excited to find out. Then I walked in to the meeting room and I had to take a moment because there were so many people there. Most of the volunteering I had done before was by myself and on certain occasions I had to lead a group of maybe 10-20 people, but this was a big group. There had to be at least 250 people in that room. I started talking to the people at my table and asking them which organization they were going to help. Going around the table, there must have been 5 or 6 different groups that were named. The interesting part about that was, I had never thought that certain places like museums would need volunteers, and I got to hear about a lot of different organizations that I had not been familiar with.
The African American Heritage Museum did not have enough volunteers, so Brian and I, along with a few other kids, decided to switch groups and join them. It was nice doing something impulsive in a long time. As we were walking out, our leader told us about the museum and how it represented African American Heritage. He told us about their extensive collection, and that they could only display a small percentage of it because they did not have enough room. At the museum, we helped them take out their newly donated Jackie Robinson collection (I touched Jackie Robinson’s shoes, even tied them!!!) and we took an inventory of everything they had and took pictures so that we could post them online.
It was a very interesting experience, and the president of the museum even gave us a personal tour, which was an honor. I feel like the best thing that came out of that day was the fact that I felt inspired to explore new and more creative ways of volunteering and being a part of the community. I feel like volunteering at a hospital is not enough for me anymore. I want to do more, but more importantly, I feel inspired to do more!