Legacy Essay Winners - Spring 2006
| Answering the call of those in need |
“Imagine . . . being autistic, never fully comprehending the art of communication . . . discovering the horrific reality that you are a carrier of HIV
. . . not knowing where your next meal will come from. Where do those traveling on the bumpy road go to for help? Who will answer them? Being a member of Students in Philanthropy (SIP) gave me the opportunity to help the non-profit organizations that have helped our community. The real challenge of being a SIP member was distributing funds (raised by the group and matched by the Abell-Hanger Foundation). My group had $4,850 to distribute, which only covered half of what agencies had requested. But, as we learned, when it comes to money, there is never enough. Bynum Elementary desperately needed funding for their music therapy, a program that provides a unique chance for autistic children to learn communication skills. For instance, one child rarely engaged in spoken conversation, but after a month of music therapy, she uttered three beautiful words — ‘I love you.’ Then, there were the needs of Midland Area Aids Support (MAAS) with their request for a client support fund, currently running at a $7,000 deficit. MAAS is everything to these clients — their family, their financial support, counselors, friends, fun, and in every sense their heroes. Bynum and MAAS both needed the full support of SIP. So, we gathered extra funds, and we were able to fully fund both organizations. How many thousands, even millions, of others need our support? If I could peer from where God stands for just a day and see the world, see its pain, and suffering, I think I would be absolutely overwhelmed. We undergo a seemingly impossible, but absolutely integral task, to be the hands and feet of God, to spread his love as philanthropists and begin to fill a hole that otherwise would be perpetually empty. |
| Learning through experience |
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“Experiences help us to learn. I believe learning through experience makes us who we are today by shaping us to become wiser in our actions and evaluate situations better. My journey began when I learned I needed to perform 40 hours of community service in order to apply for the Legacy Scholarship. I wanted to work in a diverse atmosphere, and a friend told me of a place called Casa de Amigos. It was a place for adults to acquire their GED, learn English, a hang-out for younger kids, and tutoring was available to all ages. My mother and I met with Dinah — a Casa employee, who seemed to be impressed with what I wanted to do. I began working as a babysitter in the daycare. This had to be the best time I had ever had doing community service. The employees who worked at Casa made me feel like I was part of the family. One of the grandmothers who worked there even invited me to her birthday bash. I had never experienced this anywhere except when I was with my family. It was just an amazing feeling. An experience like this helped me learn that there are still a few good people left in this world who still care. Experiences help us to learn and become wiser. I believe I have.” |
| Words of wisdom |
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“I never truly knew the meaning of community service until last summer. To fulfill my obligations for the Legacy scholarship, I volunteered at two local agencies: Breaking Bread Soup Kitchen and Helping Hands of Midland. Before that summer I had no idea that these places and people even existed in Midland. For my first 20 hours I worked with the Breaking Bread Soup Kitchen. I was in a culture shock; never before had I experienced what it means to ‘go hungry.’ And then there was “Stretch.” Once you see Stretch it is easy to know why he goes by the name. He is nearly seven feet tall. Stretch was a regular with the organization. I would have thought that Stretch would have been angry about his misfortunes in life. He was not . . . he warned me to steer clear of drugs, and to always know who my friends were. His kind words of wisdom will follow me forever. My next volunteer experience — working at Helping Hands of Midland —honestly changed my life forever. My job was to go with a crew to pick up local donations all across Midland. The people in my crew were individuals who were in the Midland County Jail for substance abuse. Because of my lack of experience with drugs, I have never known the true damage that they can do to a person. These men were telling me stories of how their addictions have ruined their families financially and emotionally. One 40-year-old man explained to me that he has been addicted to cocaine since the age of 14. The emotion in his voice showed me how important it was to him that I knew his story. The people that I met at Helping Hands showed me the right path to take in life. Through the Legacy scholarship not only was I able to help others, but I was able to help myself. The people that I met and worked with for the forty hours have greatly changed my outlook on life. I am thankful for the opportunity and for the experiences that I gained while doing community service.” |
| Making a difference |
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“Scottish philosopher Henry Home wrote: the truly generous is the truly wise, and he who loves not others, lives unblest. I feel that after all of my experiences and time spent working in the community, I have grown as a person and made a lasting impression on others. After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, I was able to give back through my involvement in Students in Philanthropy to the Red Cross by selling Cookies and Coins for Katrina. With the help of the Abell-Hanger Foundation, we raised $5,552.34 for the Red Cross to give to the unfortunate people in the Gulf Coast. After this experience, I felt the joy that comes with looking beyond my own wants and needs and assisting underprivileged people with their needs. In another volunteer experience, for three seasons, I was the head coach for the Cheetahs, a soccer team of six-year-olds. In the role of a big brother, I helped teach the team about competition, friendship, and fairness. I also learned from them the joy of scoring a goal or accomplishing a difficult task. The experience taught me patience, responsibility, and how the team trusted me to provide them with the strategy to be competitive for each game. If it were not for the generosity of the Abell-Hanger Foundation, I feel that a major portion of the experiences that have helped make me a better person would be lacking. I want to thank the Abell-Hanger Foundation for giving me the opportunity to make a difference in the community where I work, live and go to school.” |
| Community service — a positive impact |
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“After my first experience with community service I was totally changed. I felt so good afterwards and I just could not get enough of it. All my volunteer experiences have given me a feeling of warmth, but Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, and helping a kindergarten class everyday really had an impact on my life. Meals on Wheels was one of my first community service projects, and . . . it was such a wonderful feeling to bring someone a meal and having them invite you in to talk. My next volunteer experience, Volunteering for Habitat for Humanity was so awesome. Just knowing that the house was going to a deserving family made me want to work extra hard and do my very best to make the house perfect for them. My last community service project probably had the greatest impact on me: helping out with a kindergarten class everyday. It was an amazing experience getting to watch the children learn how to read and write. Part of me felt almost parent-like when I saw their progress. I will never forget those kids and the impact they had on me. Community service has had such a positive impact on my life. I plan to keep on helping out in the community and doing all I can to serve others.” |
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