The Day of Service started with all of us meeting in the campus center. There were a lot more people there than I expected. It was very inspiring to see that so many people want to give their Saturday to help others in the community. We got into lines to check in and received surveys that we needed to fill out. After we all filled out our surveys we met in the event room for breakfast. After breakfast we listened to a few speakers, the most memorable being a first responder on the day of 9/11. His accounts were vivid and gave everyone a greater respect for all those who helped that tragic day, such as fire fighters, police officers, Emergency Medical Technicians, and medical staff. They did not get to see their families that day to help others. After his inspirational speech every person gave him a standing ovation as he walked away from the podium.
Each person was then called by service project leaders to their buses where they were transported to their locations. I went to the Atlantic Riding Clinic for Health, a nonprofit riding facility that teaches the handicapped to ride horses, along with other lessons. While I was there I helped out with a few different things. First we painted trim and doors for the horses, which I enjoyed doing. After we finished we washed the brushes and then started cleaning out the shed. We moved the contents out of the shed so that they employees could decide whether or not they were going to keep, donate, or throw them away. Once that was decided we moved some of the items into the classroom. When we finished moving the boxes and other things it was one o’ clock and time for us to leave. On our way out I could tell that the employee’s at ARCH really appreciated everyone’s help that day, even though we were only there for about three hours.
On our way back we filled out a post survey and discussed what everyone did that day. Everyone did different things and I realized that even though there were only three hours, we got a lot accomplished. I truly understood how just a little work can go a long way and it means a lot to someone. The Day of Service definitely inspired me to want to go out and do more community service.