I decided to volunteer my time to the organization called Meals on Wheels. The perception I had of Meals on Wheels was that you had to drive the food to a certain address and leave it by door and that you did not have to have contact with the customer. This was not the case. You have to make sure to have contact with the customer. You must hand deliver the meal. I was amazed about how many people depend on this organization to survive on a day-to-day basis to eat. Another thing that I was astonished was to find out that almost all the elderly people live alone. So sometimes the volunteers from Meals on Wheels are the only contact they have to the outside world. I was not ready to see very old and fragile senior citizens. The first house we came across on our route was not in the best of the conditions. It needed a lot of cosmetic work. There was a lot of junk mail in the porch which made it seem like no one lived there. The lady to whom I gave the food to was very old. She could hardly move and barely had enough strength to carry the meal, which was so sad to watch. You could tell she truly needed the assistance of Meals on Wheels because she was too old to cook herself. She asked us to assist her in closing the door because she did not have enough strength to close the door herself. The next houses were almost in the same situation. There was a very old gentlemen that could not hear us when we were knocking on his door. It took him about a good 10 minutes for the man to walk to the door. This organization really impact my life in the way I see senior citizens now. They are in need of more assistance. I wish there were programs like Meals on Wheels to help our senior citizens in our community. I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunities to do so.
Point of contact for Meals on Wheels for the La Verne and San Dimas site, phone number Christine 909 455 8411
Hradjeane Henry D. Bio
Reflection II
As the week is closing, I was able to complete four community service hours. I participated in two different community services. I did both community service at City Link Water of Life church community outreach program. On Wednesday, 15th of June, I participated in what they call “Showers of Blessing.” This type of community service is to serve mobile showers for the homeless to be able to shower and was given bathing essentials. How it is set up is that we take their names down then give them a ticket, so we can Identify who is next. After the shower is used, then clean each shower and disinfect the whole shower before its used. The other two hours is with the same organization on Thursday 16th of June, but it is for food distribution. Volunteers were lined up with a grocery cart like an assembly line then fill up the grocery cart with food and drinks. When the cart is full, we are paired up with a family and we walk them to their vehicles. We then load their vehicles with the groceries and the cycle begins again. Both community services were tough on my body due to my disabilities, but the appreciations and smiles of the people I interacted with was worth it. I met many families in those two days and heard many stories. Having to be able to do this was an amazing experience. I did have many seizures like attacks those days due to being so hot and physically demanding to my body. I was still inspired by others not by other volunteers, but by those families that I was able to interact with. Their smiles were contagious and the gratitude of helping others were making try harder and numb the pain that I am feeling. I learned that even with so much pain, helping others can be subside by simple gesture to help another human being. This is what I needed the most. I learned more of about myself in those two days.
On day one, “Shower of Blessings” I was having such a horrible day. It was 100 degrees outside, and my body was starting to quit on me. When I saw this man that is on a wheelchair and needed help, I quickly had a burst of energy to help. I then escorted them to the next open stall and gave him his shower essentials. I was taken back by the energy boost that he has given. I was such in a bad shape, but when I saw him needing my help I was revived again. For every person that I saw that day, gave me strength that I needed to continue pushing through. They gave me a purpose to be there and help. Every time, I was winded or out of energy each person brought in a different energy.
I believe one of the meaningful take away from this week was the generosity of others even when they are down. I say this because throughout these services especially the food distribution day. Many families were giving each other food from their own carts. I remember one family that was able to get two carts helped a man that was not on the list and gave him what ever he wanted for their cart. It showed me that regardless how bad your situation is, there are people still willing to give of what little they had to help others. I was taken back from that whole exchange. They did not know each other but they interacted and created a solution. At first I thought when people are down in their luck, they would be more selfish and only care for themselves. This was not the case for this day. After that exchange, I had big surge of energy that had me pumped and ready for the next family to help. The organization is really making a difference in the community. Having to have mobile showers and food bank distribution available to who ever needed it the most made me think how else I can help.
Seeing so many families that need help, regardless of if they were families barely making ends meet or facing homelessness. I was able to see the importance of non-profit organizations like this that helps the community take ownership of what is lacking. Before showing up to this type of event I was thinking it was just another type of volunteer work. I was mistaken, it made a huge impact on how I view my community. I did not realize the city I live in cared about the poverty line at all. I did not realize that a homeless person can go somewhere to be able to shower and have at least have a few meals in the week to help them get by. There is so much more that I felt that I can do. What I learned about myself during this week’s community service is that a person happiness is contagious. Helping others is such a great way to meet new people. I saw many types of people during my community service. Prior to going to the service site, I had many types of judgements and stereotypes that I had in my head about homelessness. I expected that all I was going to do was just do my time and to receive my hours. I went in there thinking that was not going to be moved or have a spiritual feeling during my time.
On Thursday I help with the food drive. Prior to the food drive I was having a physical challenge due to my sickness. I got there and I was greeted by one of the coordinators. She offered me a prayer prior to starting my day. I did not feel it in the beginning, but as the day go. Everyone was saying, “God bless you.” After helping a few families, I started feeling tired, but after seeing parents get in line in this type of heat. I realized that all of them are here to better their week and provide for their family. I also thought that homeless people would have a bad attitude and not have a great outlook to life. I was talking to a man that was waiting in line and told me I am doing great. He did not know who I was, but he assumed that I was a good person. I then realized that I judge him and everyone else in his shoe with all the negative thoughts in my head. I did not give him a chance until, I was paired up with him. I felt so bad thinking of him in this way and there he was saying good things about us. There is no difference between me and him. It is because he is in need right now that does not mean he is less than me. He has more stamina in life than I do. He has gone through more hardship than I have. Although, I have retired from the military and have gone through hardships my self it is not the same as living in your homeland without a home.
The struggling family that I met at the food drive was also amazing. The dad was working two jobs and still struggling to feed his family. He said living paycheck to paycheck would be better than how is finance is at this moment. That hurt me a lot because I also have a family of my own. I can feel his struggle and I have also been there before. My early days as a parent I worked two jobs to maintain a roof over are heads and food on the table. I appreciate the time I spent with the family. Although our conversation was short it was enough for me to understand his situation. I have never exactly gone through, what he is going through, but I can understand the hopelessness feeling that he is facing. It made me think when I was on my deployments and how I did not know if I was going to come back from it. The feeling of the knight and shining armor for my family was hard when I felt helpless. I could not protect them if I were not there with them. So, him feeling helpless and not being able to provide for them is such a depressing feeling.
This week’s lessons and reading materials focused on Blanchard’s mentality. I applied that same mentality of asking myself what I lack into what I have. It changed me; it gave me the optimism way of thinking back in my life. I was depressed and negative about everything. I almost gave up on being positive. The family that I help and the man that I met this week was such a refreshing individual. They gave more charity than me giving them. I will always appreciate the time that we spent together and will keep them in mind when I am down in my luck. God bless them.
Today, I did community service at CityLink Water of Life Shower of Life. The task of the day was to give homeless in the community a chance to shower. Each person was given new socks and undergarments. At first I was taken back on how a simple shower can brighten up someone's day. Just offering warm water and soap can go a long way. Many of us take showering for granted, but there are many others who cherish these moments and value them as a blessing. During my time today I met 17 people that I have never met before and helped them with what ever they needed to a shower. I took their names and shower tickets. I handed them everything that they would need to shower. After they shower, I had to clean and sanitize the whole bathroom before the next person. As I escort them to their shower rooms, I was able to have conversations with them. I was able to listen to them and their stories. I was also sharing my stories and one person made a comment that will be lingering in my head for a long time. He mentioned that it is nice for someone to talk to him and and not dismiss him because of his status. He said it is nice to be seen as a person rather than an invisible person. Many of us look beyond a homeless person and pretend they are not there, but they are. I learned that they know when everyone pretend that do not see them or acknowledge that they are around. I felt humble and guilty at the same time. I have done that many times especially when I am not carrying cash on me. But the reality is that, they don't want my money, all they want is to be acknowledge that they are people too. I would love to say that I give my full attention and give them food or money when I come across them. The reality is that I don't, I have given money, food and drink before. It is simple not enough having to have full on conversation and just simply giving them a time of day is actually better than giving them something materialistic. I am not saying that they might not want what it is that you are offering, but listening and taking the time to talk is as good as anything else. Tomorrow I will be going back to hand out food and drinks. I must say I am looking forward to doing so. I feel like I can relate with some of their pains, because I have a disability that causes me seizures multiple times a day. People around me looks at me with different facial expressions and many pretends not to see me. In a way I understand feeling helpless and feeling invisible. It is hard to guess what others think of you and you can never guess what they think you. Feeling like a second class citizen is hard to fathom. I can not say I completely understand what they go through, but feeling invisible or wanting to be invisible is something I can relate. I know that I was able to make a connection because they said when I come back tomorrow. For the food bank services they want to know what I ended up doing today and they are going to do the same. I think I made a few connections and that's all I can ask for. This community service became something I needed more than the people I actually help. They showed me a different way of looking on life than what I am accustomed to. I love the time I spent with everyone today.
The service that I completed this week consisted of handing out assorted meals to those in need with Sowing Seeds for Life. This opportunity was very invigorating to be able to assist other volunteers who care for others in giving meals out to those who are in need and are extremely grateful for what is given to them. With it having been my first experience with Sowing Seeds for Life, I immediately had a big realization about the amount of hard work that goes into organizing and setting up such a helpful process which consisted of lots of stations equipped with the sufficient amounts of meals, resources, and tents needed to facilitate the service of the line of cars that filed in for the designated time zone. Despite the hard-beating sun on this summer day, the volunteers present at the time were all so happy to be there which kept the reminder that what is being done is very important and healthy for the community overall. This attitude also kept the flow of work going at a steady pace to be able to serve as many families as possible when coming through the stations. Realizing all of this is what induced the feeling of invigoration and made the flow of service light because of the positive aura surrounding all of the volunteers. For anyone considering or looking for a facility to get community service hours at, I highly recommend Sowing Seeds for Life as a good place to help out the community by giving essentials to those who will be grateful for the time and resources that you are helping out with. Not only that but the Sowing Seeds for Life volunteers made it clear that they are always looking for more volunteers in order to make the process even easier and more efficient for those showing up to the pantry each week. In conclusion, I am very grateful for the experience that Sowing Seeds for Life was able to provide which gave insight into the hard work and dedication that goes into helping to serve and give back to the community in a way that creates such a positive impact that you can only truly experience in its entirety by personally showing up and helping in any possible way that you can.
Volunteered at St. Stephens Baptist Church Food Bank again for the second week. Was talking with Tim Robinson to see where he picked up the crates and boxes from. I also noticed that he had household goods that he picked up. Like clothes, shoes, rugs, I seen that that stuff was placed in the building to be hold for the families that go to the Food Bank on the second and fourth Tuesdays and Thursdays of the month. After talking with Tim Robinson, he picked up the goods from Walmart. It was mentioned to me that he requested to have the stuff on pellets but when he arrived at Walmart everything was in boxes and all over the place. Made the pickup longer. During this volunteer work there was no homeless personal in line. But there were a lot of people going through hard times. Was told that they feel so blessed to have this Food Bank to hold them over until the next paycheck to get groceries for the family. I will continue to pray for all the families going through hard time and living paycheck to paycheck. Cant wait to go back to volunteer next week.
When I first approached the task I thought how about how awesome it would be to utilize this task to not only get volunteer hours but also spend a few hours with my 8 year old daughter, who loves to paint. Three significant moments while accomplishing the goal was the look on my daughters face when I asked her "Do you want to help me with my homework?" The look on her face was a mixture of confusion and excitement. Another significant moment was tasking my daughter and her friend down to the beach to collect rocks. What I assumed would be quick and easy turned into an hour long mission searching for the right rocks, and rocks in general. This particular beach is more of a sandbar rather than a rocky beach. The third significant moment was allowing my daughter to think of messages. She said "I want to write I love you because not everyone gets to hear it as much as we do." I could have cried. IT was that rock that we gave to a neighboring child who is currently living with her grandma. No other family members. We wanted her to know she was loved and like family to us and her face lit up with joy. It was also in that moment that I realized what an impact humans have on humans let alone those in our communities. We live in a community that is currently experiencing a massive homelessness issue. And it was amazing to see the look on the two women's faces that we gave the other three rocks too. They stared at them for quite awhile and one told me that I was an angel. I do truly believe it made their day. It certainly made mine and my daughters. This may in fact become something we do more often.
×
Menu
Reflection I
Reflection I
Reflection I
Hradjeane Henry Bio
Final Grade
Last attempt with a grade
Not graded
Attempt 1 Submitted 6/13/22, 12:26 AM (PDT)
Not graded
Assignment Content
Assignment Content
Instructions for Reflection I
Write a three and a half to four page essay.
Don't copy and paste the questions into the paper.
No headers or bullets.
Address each question.
Twelve point font and double space.
Post only as a WORD DOC. PDF
No outside research. Draw on your own lived experience.
The title page doesn't count as a page.
Revised First Reflection Feb 5 2019.docx
The attached document states the paper is due the second week of class; that is not the case.
Reflection I is due MONDAY June 13th before 11:00 P.M.
Plan ahead. Late papers will not be graded. See the syllabus for more about this policy.
Grade points 25.
Submission Content
Submission Content
Reflection I
By Hradjeane Henry D. Bio
LVE 305: VALUES, CIVILITY, & HOMELESSNESS
Dr. Jaye A. Houston
jhouston@laverne.edu
CRN 1463 1
Summer 2022
Reflection I
My reflection number one was inspired by Sacred Heart Church in Rancho Cucamonga Sunday Mass. The mass homily was about the community and the “The Inner Life of God!” (My Catholic Life, 2022). My family and I have a joke that God speaks to us in the homily at church. What ever issues or important challenges we have that day or week, my wife calls the priest to speak through us during the homily. “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20. This was very touching to me because I was in the military and now retired. I needed someone to talk to when I could not talk to anyone. My ethics were challenged everyday and traveling the world through scope and life of others that will be affected by our actions as a soldier.
Today, I had the same feeling I had during the time I was in the service. I was thinking about my reflection this week and what was I going to do. So, after church my daughter and I decided we should find some rocks and paint them and write a meaningful message for each rock. We decided to do five rocks to paint because there are five of us and each of us painted one and wrote messages. My wife’s rock says, “healing is a part of life”, my oldest son says, “Be undeniable” because he said, I say that to him all the time. My daughter says, “When a new day begins dare to smile gratefully,” and my youngest son says, “All we have is now.” For my rock I wrote, “Every day is a change to be Better”. I thought everyone have picked great quotes from the internet. After we have painted our rocks, we dried it with a blow dryer to dry it quickly to avoid the paint to run down. After drying all the paint my wife had to go to a work meeting, so I oversaw dinner. This means we are getting take outs.
My son and I decided to go Little Caesar since everywhere else had a long line. As we wait in line, a woman in front of us was crying heavily and her daughter just kept asking her mom was wrong. Her child was very concern, so my son and I asked if she was ok. Everyone in the store was just minding their own business and turned the other cheek. So, I then remember I have my rosary that I wore when I was in the military that a lady from Varna, Bulgaria had given me when I was sitting in the pew. I have worn that rosary everywhere since my second deployment. I have had that rosary since 2010 and I believe I was saved by this rosary, with my marriage, naval career, and fatherhood. I felt like it was time for me to pass it along. So, I slowly walked up to her and tapped her shoulder. I smiled at her and told her that what ever she is going through it will pass. I remember what my daughter had wrote on her rock that says, “Healing is a part of life.” I slowly reached for my rosary that was around my neck and told her how I have had my rosary for a long time. I also told her that the rosary was given to me at my roughest time, and it got me through it all. My son then runs to the car and ask my daughter for the rock. So, we also gave her the rock. The lady kept saying no, she could not take it. Then she broke down crying and told us, we do not know what we just did for her. She said she was going through some rocky times with her family, and she has not been to church for a long time.
Then she said that today was the first time she had gone back to church and there we were handing her a rosary. I was shocked and I just felt like we were meant to meet her today. I know the project was about the rock, but I felt compel to give her my rosary and I was not even thinking about the rock. Her mood changed and we felt like we have helped her in way that we could not have plan how our day was going to go. My youngest son says, “Man first mom calls the priest for homily, now she is getting other people involved.” We all laughed and was thinking about what just happened to us. Although, it felt great giving the rock and my rosary I cannot stop thinking if she was going to be ok. I think getting to paint our rocks was an amazing project and showed my kids that a simple gesture goes a long way.
Community Service 305: First Reflection Paper
Going to the Food Bank at the ST. Stephens Baptist Church in La Puente was a great experience for me. Helping unload the truck of food for the people that were waiting for it to be unloaded. With boxes of can goods, fresh vegetables, meats, and other goodies.
The ways that the service made an Impact on my life was to see so many people of all ages in the line waiting for food that was free. Showing me that there are people out there that have homes but have no money for food.
This community service experience differed from my pervious community service experience because I have never volunteered to work for the adult section of the community. All my other volunteer work was with just kids at the boys and girls club. So, for me to see the way the food bank side interacts with the community is new and great to see.
I think this community service could be counterproductive to the community because there are so many people in this community that are hungry and don’t have money to feed themselves or their families. Without Food Banks like this one there will by more families and people dying out in this community.
The counter productiveness for the people being served is that they can continue to eat and not have to stress to much on knowing where their next meal is going to come from. The only reason I know that they are not homeless is because I seen everyone that was being served drove up and parked in the parking lot. Males and females and ages from 18-65.
Having conducted community service with this organization there are a few challenges that I may encounter while volunteering at this food Bank, I noticed that when the people were in line, they were very talkative and socializing. Once the workers from the Food bank gave the people in the line the okay to get what they needed, it was all men and women for themselves. The Food Bank personal had it under control but for me seeing it for the first time, felt like it could have gone wrong fast. Maybe with fight or arguing but there was none of that.
I most differently think that community service makes a difference for those how need is in the community, changing a person’s day by giving them something they truly need is a great feeling for the volunteers. The ones receiving the food can benefit by having the nutrition for that day or for that week. The smiles on the people’s faces are worth the volunteering experience.
The first rock I gave was the ‘it’s ok’ rock to a complete stranger I saw at the gas station. The guy had a thousand-yard stare, that it looked him a minute to even realize that his fuel nozzle had already clicked indicating his car was full. Anyone could tell he had a lot or something heavy on his mind, so I decided to give him the first rock. His initial reaction of confusion matched the worry I was feeling about how awkward this all might seem but after I told him what it was about, I saw a small relief on his face and he thanked me then drove off. I would like to think that giving him that small token of acknowledgment will help him refocus his thoughts on whatever the matter was and centralize it on it will work out in some way or another.
The next rock I gave was the ‘you matter’ to a co-worker of mine whom I like to joke with every so often. I got the same reaction of confusion and went on to ask if this was some time of prank. I laughed at him and told him, just like the first guy, what it was about. Still confused, I explained myself by telling him that he always jokes about how we are all replaceable and we don’t really matter, so I saw this as an opportunity to share with him, that yes we may be replaceable at the job we do. Yet the relationships and memories we build at work, are not, making him know that he matters to me and those around him.
The following rock, I ended up giving to my neighbor’s little boy. At first, it was a way to help him calm down, after running too fast and having scrapped up his hands and knees but it turned into a lesson. The words were ‘be strong’ were written on this rock and while some might think I was telling him to walk it off. It was his mother who hold him to what it meant and I couldn’t have said it better myself. The little boy at first thought it meant that he needed to be strong like the hulk and take it all in and get up to keep going, but how she explained it sounded much better. She told him that yes he can be like hulk but that is also the reason why he is so easy to get mad. Or you can be stronger than hulk by taking a moment to acknowledge that it hurt and you made the mistake of running too fast and try not to let it happen again. This helped me understand that being strong should not be seen as holding your feeling or thoughts to yourself, true strength comes from being vulnerable so you can really heal.
The last rock I gave was to a lady working check out in Wal Mart. Now I don’t know if it had to do with a staffing issue, but it seems like every time I go there, there are only about 2-3 registers open and they are always packed. I was in no hurry so I waited patiently but there were others that were not as patient and were blaming her for not being quick enough. I could see she was struggling to give them her customer service smile, so I was up I asked her if she was alright. Her smile disappeared and she said it was just one of those days, all I could think of as a reply was tomorrow may be a better day, which got her to chuckle a little bit but I could still see the tiredness on her face. So I went to my car and pulled out my last rock of ‘your doing great, got back in line, and gave it to her with a snickers bar on the side. I told her to ignore all these jerks cause none of them can do what she can do. That put a true smile on her face and in return, I felt good for the rest of the day.