A testimonial on the riches of volunteering

By Kate Knowles
Collegian Staff
January 31, 2007

From an early age, I was required to volunteer; obtaining a certain amount of hours was mandatory to get confirmed and to graduate from eighth grade at my school. I remember my peers groaning at the thought of fulfilling what seemed like a ridiculous request.

However, I was different. I had always loved to give something that was not expected and in return did not expect anything. To many people, this may sound cliché or even, dare I say it, corny. Yet, I loved helping young kids shoot baskets in an amateur basketball marathon or giving presents to kids who were terminally ill. Volunteering my time, energy and, most importantly, positive attitude helped me become a more well-rounded person, one able to appreciate the not so wonderful aspects of life.

Upon graduating grade school, I knew I was going to miss volunteering. However, when I arrived at high school, my religion teacher informed me that we would have to do a specific amount of hours in order to graduat. Then we would have to write a paper on it recounting our experiences and turn it in for a final grade. I was elated.

Throughout my four years of high school, I participated in a wide variety of volunteer activities, working predominately with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. My mother had been actively involved with this organization, and I found myself and many of my friends attending the annual gift-wrapping party and then the holiday party a couple of days later. This was an amazing experience.

Early in December, we would get together and wrap gifts that were being allocated to the children’s families. Later in the month, we would all dress up as the kids’ favorite cartoon characters and help them make spin art and beaded necklaces. It was an awesome time in my life. Not only was I with my friends, but I was making kids who felt like they had nothing know that they had people in their lives who were determined to make them feel like other kids their age.

Also, I was an avid contributor to the little kid’s basketball marathon at my elementary school: helping 13-year-olds dunk baskets was utterly crazy. Plus, free cotton candy was involved.

Being at college has hindered my ability to take time to engage in the volunteer activities that I was able to participate in when I was home. However, at La Salle, I have tried to become active in leading the school to make a difference within the local community. From journeying to the Ronald McDonald House to play board games with young and bright kids, to painting an elderly woman’s house a few blocks from campus, volunteering is still with me and will continue to be for the rest of my life. I can’t ever see myself not volunteering because, as famed boxer Muhammad Ali once said, “Service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy.”

knowlesk1@lasalle.edu