Community Service

Over the course of the semester, I completed more than ten hours of community service. With the opportunity I was given, I didn't make it a mandatory decision, I made it a choice. Going into the community service thinking in such a way made my experience more meaningful and important to me. I volunteered at the Bill's Youth Football Organization in Buffalo Grove. I started my experience by grabbing new pads and equipment that we received and put them into the football pants. I then set up concussion-proof helmets checking their safety and then hanging up helmets for registration. As the equipment was ready, the registration process had just begun and I already felt like I had impacted the children so much after only a few hours of work. It's amazing how little you have to do in order to make an impact on someone, something, or the community. As the first little boy came in, he had the biggest smile on his face. He couldn't wait to play football this year. This absolutely set up a flashback for me because I played for the Buffalo Grove Bills for eight years and first came in when I was five years old. I am sure that the look on the little boy's face was very similar to the one on my face at the time. This part of the experience really had an impact on me because I went through this process and had the time of my life. After putting in 10+ hours into the organization, it made me feel on top of the world and that I should do this more often. I look to do this again because it makes me feel really good about myself. I would say that I had a very positive experience in doing this and that I view things very different now because of the little things I did for this organization and community.