For my first official weekend here at Stockton College, I chose to participate in the tenth Annual Day of Service. The day offered ample opportunity to research clubs, volunteer for good causes and meet a variety of new people. Eager to find the right club to participate in, I quickly ate my bagel and proceeded to find the best fit club to enjoy a fun-filled day of service. My friend and I chose to work with Circle K, a club dedicated to providing service for children, elders, animals and the homeless. The tasks for the day were to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the homeless shelter, sew teddy bears and blankets as well as make cards for the children in the hospital, and braid homemade dog toys for the animal shelter.

I spent a majority of my time making cards for terminally ill children. I was supplied with information of specific children with illnesses such as cancer. I found it slightly difficult coming up with what to say in the cards. For one boy’s card, I wrote “Thanks for being Awesome” with the word “awesome” written in 3-D with paper. I tried my best to personalize their cards with their names as well as their interests. At one point, I was running out of ideas: I drew a picture of a cat on the front of the card with the message “Here’s a kitten to brighten your day” inside of it. Although a card is a small, insignificant gesture in the grand scheme of things, it could potentially mean the world to a parent or the child (even if it is only for a moment). Overall, the experience was fun as well as helpful for others. Ever since I came to Stockton, my world has expanded immensely. Instead of simply completing a service project, the experience has opened my eyes to certain possibilities in terms of future volunteer work and even careers.