This year I had one of my first experiences of participating in community service alongside my school. As a freshman, I had never heard of Ridge Gives Back (RGB), and when I received an email outlining the concept of an entire school day dedicated to community service, I was ecstatic. The minute sign ups opened, I was still in class, extremely confused as to why everyone around me was in such a hurry to enroll in an activity. Eventually, I realized that there was limited availability, and being freshmen, we were given the chance to sign up after all the other classes had already logged in. The energy in that classroom was unlike anything else I’ve experienced. None of us were paying attention to the teacher, we were only focused on selecting a fun activity to do with friends. In the end, I chose to volunteer at Grace Food Pantry.
The day of RGB was one full of excitement and curiosity. Once we were at the food pantry, we created packages to give to families in need. These packages contained items such as milk, beans, vegetables, canned meats and toiletries. We worked in an assembly line, which was extremely efficient and we finished packing over 50 bags in a matter of minutes. After completing this task, we were instructed on how to prepare for the influx of people who were about to come to collect groceries. We took staple food items like, bread, milk, egg, vegetables, and meat, and arranged them in baskets in various parts of the room. We each were assigned a specific section, and soon the food pantry opened. In our sections, we were in charge of distributing foods to the guests, while making sure that there would be enough for everyone.
Overall, I really enjoyed participating in this activity and felt impactful after seeing how reliant these guests were on the supplies provided by the food pantry. It was a touching experience, drawing me to reflect and feel "grateful".
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