Alexis Franklin
On September 10, I participated in Stockton’s annual Day of Service. I signed up over the summer because I figured I would need community service projects for the Honors Program, and I was more or less dreading spending all day volunteering. My dread had lied in the fact that I expected to be cleaning up trash all day or doing something dull, however the different activities were actually really entertaining, and I had a lot of fun! I did four different events; Text, Talk, Vote; Circle K’s program, where I made cards and project templates for sick children; Green Dot Bystander training; and Stop Hunger Now’s program, where I helped to make a total of 48,000 meals! My two favorite were definitely the Text, Talk, Vote and the Stop Hunger Now events.
The Text, Talk, Vote program was meant to encourage everyone to vote, especially in the upcoming November presidential election. I love politics, so this event was right up my alley. I got to sit around with my friends and discuss how we felt about the different issues and candidates. Even though the rest of my friends aren’t into politics as much as I am, it was still really fun. It was, however, upsetting to see that most of the people participating in the program either didn’t really care about the outcome in November or had pretty much lost hope and weren’t planning on voting in the election this year. I could go on for hours about my own opinions and the candidate I support, but I would definitely prefer for someone to vote for the candidate opposing my own than not vote at all. I hope the Text, Talk, Vote program really changed people’s minds and encouraged them to vote, because the importance of voting is often undersold.
The Stop Hunger Now program was surprisingly fun and energizing, and even though the actual work I was doing wasn’t very complicated or all that exciting (I just poured dried veggies into a funnel), I really enjoyed it. The big group I was with danced our way to making 12,000 meals, so in total Stockton made 48,000 meals in one day, which is really impressive. Normally I wouldn’t have volunteered for an organization like Stop Hunger Now, but I’m glad I was kind of “forced” to try out new things at the Day of Service. I also was in with a group of people I hadn’t met before, so in addition to making meals for the hungry, I got to meet new people and make new friends too, which was great!
The Day of Service was definitely not what I was expecting it to be, but I’m really happy I participated. Not only did I get to help people, but I got pushed out of my comfort zone and found new things that I enjoy doing. I even got a selfie with Trump and Clinton cutouts. Overall, it was a great day and I’m looking forward to the next Day of Service!
