Jason Justice

I volunteered at a Halloween event as a part of the interact club. The Halloween event catered for children and as a part of the event, we were strongly encouraged to dress up in costumes and help kids with arts and crafts. Unfortunately, I was learning to drive at the time, so I arrived for the latter two hours of the event. The event took place in Monroe, NC and was called the Fall Festival. The date of this event was October 15, 2022. My role was to help kids make paper pumpkins or watch them create crafts and help if needed. I was involved for two hours from 12-2pm and I helped at least 20 kids. I learned how to socialize with other people and that people will be satisfied if you make a genuine effort to help someone, rather than just by the quality of the assistance. It has contributed to my personal and professional growth in that it simply allowed me to commiserate with other people and work alongside others to bring good fortune and experiences for everyone. 

 

The next experience that impacted my development was when I volunteered at an Easter Event. It also took place in Monroe, NC and on the same road that the SPCC Monroe campus is located. The relative date for this event is March of 2023. My responsibility was to staff the crafts table, much like in my first volunteer opportunity. I sat there for two hours, from 2-4, constantly tending to children while having the sunshine in my face. If the first volunteer opportunity taught me how to socialize, the second event taught me how to be resilient. I was able to hide most of the discomfort I had while keeping up a cheery persona and tending to children as best as I could. It made a major impact on my personal and professional growth by allowing me to maintain resilience in uncomfortable situations while keeping a happy face on. I refused repeated requests for breaks so I could continue engaging with everyone that came up to my table. In addition, I gained the knowledge of how to interact with kids. 

 

Finally, I volunteered at a children’s place as a part of the NSLS. It also took place in Monroe, however, this time I was volunteering from 8:30am-12pm. This event took place in January of 2024. As a volunteer, I organized books, bagged toys, and wrote letters of support to educators and daycare workers. At first, I wrote generic messages on the first 100 cards, but I eventually moved on to including more original words of support that would allow me to make an impact my own way. In a way, I treated them all like they were soldiers who were mobilized for the common good.  Although I was drained at the end of the session since I had to get up early to arrive on time, I still was able to (hopefully) make at least one of my intended recipient’s days. What I learned was simply that sometimes it is not enough to just do a job, but that your work can blossom if you are truly set on a task with your heart, not just your mind. It has contributed greatly to my professional and personal growth by allowing me to express my accolades and support to everyone who holds society up every day. While I was volunteering, I was thinking about all the people who have had to do vital work without being let known any gratitude, thus it helped when I wrote those cards.