Civic Duty

Richie and I are stoked to serve some soup.

 Adventures in Community Service

My service hours were spent at St. Vincent De Paul over the course of four weeks, for two and a half hours a week. My buddy Richie, Mrs. Black, and I helped feed the homeless and families in need.  The first day, Richie and I began by setting up the tables. When the families came in, we took their orders from the menu. They had a choice between two different entrées and several sides. We took orders from forty-five tables. Some families did not speak English which made it kind of difficult. They also had a full salad bar to choose different types of meats, cheese, fruits, and vegetables. This was not a meager amount of food by any means. There was even enough left over for the volunteers to eat. The following Friday, we were told that Andre house down the street was in need of help. I was nervous because Andre house wasn’t just for families and some homeless people were known to be violent. When I got there my fears vanished and I actually liked those people more because they were very interesting and more willing to talk to me. I served people water and cleaned up their tables when they were done. There was a very large line of people waiting to eat. Some people got back in line and were turned down. It was kind of sad. The week after that, we went back to the original soup kitchen. I volunteered to help take food orders again. That’s when I met a girl named Jessica. She helped me take orders and she helped me a lot with the families who spoke Spanish. I would have been pretty lost without her because there was a family that needed everything on the menu to be translated. The final day was the following Monday. This was a special even because the news was there to run a story and help spread the word about St. Vincent De Paul. They had a turkey carving, a band and almost twice as many families showed up. Richie and I had the all important task of replacing the water. It was exhausting. By the end of the day, we had collected all of our hours.

Kickin' ass at the Souuuup Kitchen.

Lets learn about some civic duty.

            When civic duty comes to mind, one considers the obligations of citizens to other citizens. However, a person may also think about it as a way to help someone else in need on a personal level. Civic Duty is the responsibility of all human beings to help each other without discrimination or judgment. It is the idea that everyone is obligated to do their part in order for the entire population to become more efficient. Civic duties include volunteering, paying taxes, and voting. These duties require either initiative or government action. Either way, they serve a necessary purpose by separating the successful countries from third world countries.

            Volunteering is widely varied. It can be for an issue, a cause, or anything that ignites a passion. Volunteers donate their time in order to contribute to a common goal or to help people in need. People form groups of volunteers to raise money for causes including spreading awareness, finding cures, funding facilities, or anything that would benefit a mass amount of people. The media is a great way to spread the word about foundations. The more people involved the more effective a foundation is. Volunteering takes initiative and is an effective way to participate in civic duty.

            Paying taxes is a less discretionary form of civic duty.  It is a government mandate to raise funds for things that keep a country running. These funds go towards human services, department of defense, treasury debt, agriculture, education, and so on. Taxation is very important because it goes to the government. Their job is to provide people with civil liberties as well as to protect them. In this way, paying taxes helps give people incentive to perform a civic duty.

Voting can be considered one of the most powerful duties that Americans have. Voting allows citizens to voice their opinion and decide the direction that our country takes. Anything from propositions to presidents are voted on. This freedom of choice allows people to decide the way this government is run. It is crucial because countries that do not have the ability to vote are oppressed. Countries without the right to vote are told what to do and eventually fall apart. Voting is a civic duty because it is a precious right that not everyone has. The right to vote is often taken for granted.

Obligations of Americans are diverse. The responsibilities of every American include volunteering time and effort, paying taxes, and voicing their opinion. These are not the only duties of Americans. A duty can be as simple as having a job. A civil responsibility can be anything that one person can contribute to help out the society as a whole. The self-accountability of everyone to perform these tasks is a social norm. It is this type of cooperation that makes America a successful country and sets us apart from a third world country.

Bibliography

Abby Michaels (2010, April 15)

Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/list_6329580_examples-civic-duties.html

US Gov’t (2008, April 27)

Retrieved form http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/research-papers.cfm

US Gov’t (2010 December 1)

Retrieved from http://www.federalbudget.com/

Katie and I with the Bashas' Bear.... and a creeper

My Experience

Overall, I would say that my time with St. Vincent De Paul was enjoyable. I met people, helped people out and I got some free food. It was a harsh reality check when Mrs. Black drove us to the neighborhood where we were volunteering. I haven’t been in a place like that in years and it made me realize how nice Anthem is. When I learned about this assignment I didn’t know what to do. I thought I was just going to be able to work at a dog shelter and not help anyone directly. When I was told that was not an option I panicked a little. Then Richie told me he was working at a soup kitchen and I decided to tag along. In retrospect, I think we had more fun than we would have had by ourselves. I’m glad I went there instead of the Foothills Food Bank because that’s where a majority of people from our school went. I had a much better experience helping people out who lived in a worse neighborhood than Cave Creek.

Workin' Hard

 It was an experience to learn from and I learned a lot. I learned that there are so many people out there who need a break and just want a hot meal. It instilled the idea that we should not judge each other, but instead help people out because not everyone has it as good as others. While I was there, it seemed like some of the regular volunteers were there to have a reason to pat themselves on the back every week. They were talking to me about the guests like they were worse than them. I didn’t like that at all. Some people there completely missed the point of helping out a fellow human being. It seemed like they were just there for the karma boost and to feel good about themselves.

 I chose the job of taking orders because I wanted to personally connect with people. It felt good to hear a mother of three to say “God bless you” or the man of the family to just call me “sir”. I would tell them that it wasn’t a problem. Some people told me that they did not need my help taking their tray but they thanked me anyway. Some people just stayed quiet. It made me realize that these people had too much pride in themselves to openly accept help from a stranger. I thought that was admirable in a way.

Hardly workin'

There was a man at Andre house who dropped his plate. Instead of getting back in line and getting a new one, he picked the food up off the floor and walked back to his seat. A woman named Lisa and I wondered if we should get him a new plate. She went to the kitchen and came back before the man started eating. We gave him the second plate and he was very grateful. We asked him if we can take his other plate and he said no. I was a little surprised. Normally, someone would not eat food off of the floor. This man was willing to do so and had no problem with it. It made me wonder how desperate these people are. I also wondered that if this man was willing to eat off the floor, how many others are? I didn’t want everyone dropping their food just to receive a second plate because they saw this man do it.  There wouldn’t be enough to go around.

These forms of service help society greatly because there are so many ways that they help. They have a physical, social, and emotional impact not only to the recipients, but to the volunteers as well. They open peoples’ eyes to the world around them. Even if things are going your way, they may not be going someone else’s. Anyone can benefit from helping another person. If they keep their minds open, they could learn as much as I did. The recipients of the volunteering may not have had food in a week. They may not have had contact with anyone. They may be looking forward to their visit to the soup kitchen. The thing is that we do not know where these people came from. We just know that they want our help

I didn't realize Richie was also the Flash. I'm busy taking orders with Jessica.

The Gang

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