On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the first day of the Spring 2015 semester, I participated in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of service. We were given breakfast and t-shirts in the morning, and then brought into a large room. Students and community members were instructed to choose a table that was associated with the project that they wanted to be a part of that day. My friends and I sat at the Circle K table. We listened to many short speeches and a song. After that, people participating in off campus projects left the room. Circle K participants were then able to spread out because we were staying in that room.

The Circle K supervisors prepared various projects for people to help out with. My table put together craft kits for children in the hospital. They were craft kits to make rainbows with a cloud on the end. We cut out colored strips of construction paper, selected three crayons, grabbed a handful of cotton balls, cut cloud shapes out of paper plates, and put all of that in a plastic bag. We included directions on how to assemble the cloud and rainbow craft, too.

When we ran out of supplies to construct the craft kits, we moved on to making friendship bracelets. The friendship bracelets were also for children in the hospital. We were given string in multiple colors and the freedom to make any type of bracelet that we wanted to make. Making bracelets friendship bracelets was something I grew up doing, so it was fun to make them. It brought back a lot of nice memories for me and is sure to make a child smile now. The 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service was a great day.

On February 28^th, 2015 I went to the animal shelter. I went with other members of the honors program. It was a one time organized event. I was looking forward to going to the animal shelter, because I really like animals. In high school, I volunteered at an animal hospital every Saturday morning. This service opportunity really appealed to me. The small group of us that were going met in the arts and sciences building at 9:15 in the morning. We took three cars to get there. The drive was short, and the shelter was easy to get there.

When we got to the animal shelter, we were given our assignments. There were three options: cleaning, laundry, or phone calls. I chose to clean with some friends. We swept, mopped, and vacuumed. The front of the shelter looked very clean and presentable when we were done. The cleaning that we did was helpful to the shelter because the front room is the first impression people get of the place. They spend time in that room before they see the animals. If they think the place is not in good condition, they might choose to leave and go to a different facility that looks more presentable.

After we cleaned, we were allowed to play with the cats. The cats were so sweet. They were very happy to be held and paid attention to. Playing with the cats was my favorite part of the morning. After we played with the cats, we had a reflection session. At the reflection session, most people agreed that interacting with the cats was the best part. It was nice to spend a morning with animals. Overall, the service project was a success. I am glad that I participated.

On a Tuesday night before Halloween, my RA, Julie, held a floor program. I live in honors housing, D building, on the second floor. The program was called “Pumpkin Painting with Pals”. Julie organized this program with one of her friends from another floor, so both floors did this together in the D200 common room. Only one person from the other floor came, but the majority of D200 came. People brought friends, too. I really enjoy living on a floor with friendly people who participate in the awesome programs Julie plans for us.

At the start of the program, everyone went downstairs to pick out a pumpkin. There were many different sized pumpkins sitting in a big blue crate right outside D building. I chose a medium sized pumpkin and brought it upstairs. In the common room, Julie and her friend set up a long table in the middle with paint and paintbrushes. There was a snack table in the corner, with festive Halloween candy and Rice Krispy treats. Water and apple cider were available as well.

The other residents and I ate, drank, spoke to each other, and painted. It was a really fun night. People got really creative with their pumpkins. I just put an “S” on mine and painted a chevron pattern all over the pumpkin. Other girls recreated fictional characters on their pumpkins, made interesting faces on them, and so much more. I am happy that we did this. It was something creative and very fun. It is clear that Julie put a lot of thought and effort into this program, and that paid off because we all had a great time.

On Tuesday October 7^th at 6:00, I attended Project Linus. A small group of students met in an event room in the campus center. This was my first time participating, but this project is a weekly event. The organizer of Project Linus, an upperclassman named Lauren, puts this event together for Circle K. Lauren’s friend McKenzie explained the instructions to me for the project we were expected to complete: bears. We were making stuffed teddy bears for sick children. Aside from the bears, Project Linus also makes blankets and pillowcases for the children. This event was for a good cause, and it was fun.

As per McKenzie’s instructions, I started out with two pieces of fabric. Someone else already cut them into bear shapes, so I was able to skip the first step. I pinned the two pieces of pink floral fabric together, with the insides facing out. I then threaded a needle and sewed the fabric together with small stitches along the perimeter. After I sewed most of the way around, I flipped the fabric so that the pattern would now be on the outside and stuffed the inside with soft cotton. I finished it off with a few more stitches to close the stuffing hole and it was done.

It only took an hour of my time to make a difference in the life of a sick child. That small, pink bear will probably make someone very happy, and it did not take that much effort to complete. Making a difference does not require a significant amount of time or energy. Small acts of kindness have just as much of an impact.

On Saturday September 6^th, I attended Stockton’s Day of Service. For this event, breakfast was given in the morning, and then all of the participants were directed into the campus center event room at 8:00 am. Signs displaying the names of different organizations in need were posted at tables. Once inside, participants sat at the table corresponding with the organization he/she wanted to help with. I sat at the table for two local thrift shops. There were 6 available spots for people to sign up to go to the thrift shops; so three students went to each store. Everyone listened to Stockton’s President’s speech, and then we were off. With a bagged lunch in hand, the volunteers boarded the busses.

The bus ride was short. The driver was a Stockton maintenance employee, and he entertained us with facts about the college. First, he dropped off the chaperone and her three helpers, and shortly after he arrived at the thrift shop two other volunteers, our chaperone and I were assigned too. We went into the store at 10:30 am. The storeowner immediately gave us work to do. She requested the VCR tapes in the back of the store to be moved to the front, the little statues in the front to be moved to the back, and the baskets to be hung from the ceiling. We completed those tasks quickly, so the storeowner then asked us to individually decide what needed to be cleaned, moved, or organized and do that to make the shelves look more appealing. She was so grateful for something as simple as organizing shelves.

One volunteer organized all of the holiday decorations, another organized all of the children’s toys, and I organized the greeting cards. The store looked so much cleaner and orderly when we left, and the storeowner looked a lot happier.