On September 6, 2014, I participated in Stockton’s Day of Service, in which various organizations gathered and offered multiple volunteer tasks to hundreds of people. It was a great chance to get out and see what actually needed help around the community and on the campus itself.
Walking around the main room, we had about 8 people in our group, and for some reason none of us wanted to separate, so we found an empty table with a sign that read “Water Watch”. At first, I thought we might go to the water plant of Atlantic County and see some internal procedures…but I was far off. Instead, this was an organization that focused on keeping Stockton’s fine campus clean of litter and pollution. Regardless, this was bound to be a productive day. But first things first… coffee!
Once we were divided into groups, the work commenced. We were handed a nice pair of work gloves, trash bags, and luckily I got the Grabber-Thing-A-Ma-Jig that picks up trash with the squeeze of a trigger. (I must tell you, I got very proficient with that tool…I could snipe a piece of trash from a good 4 feet away, and it was very satisfying). Once the equipment was distributed, we walked outside through Stockton’s silver arches and then we realized an inevitable obstacle…the heat. It was 80 degrees and rising, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Time to break out the water bottles!
As far as the trash collection goes, it was a very long, hot, and overall very rewarding process. With each individual cigarette butt or gum wrapper I picked up, I felt like the Earth was already a significantly amount cleaner. Even though that’s not the reality, it is nice to think that if everybody reduced their litter and picked up after other delinquents, the environment would thrive exponentially better. I truly felt like as a whole, the people who volunteered their time that day made a significant difference to themselves, the campus, and the community. I plan on attending this event for many years to come, and I urge others to do the same…every little effort counts in the grand scheme of things.