First Month of Americorps at Jersey Cares...

About three weeks ago, I started my year of service as an AmeriCorps member working at Jersey Cares.  There was no time to waste, and everyday and every second of my daily work routine was involved in servicing the communities in NJ.  As the Economic Coordinator/ Community Outreach Coordinator; these past three weeks; I have staffed volunteer projects at soup kitchens, visited non-profit organizations throughout the state of NJ, observed volunteers during their service, and drawn and painted murals on school walls.  This is not to say; Jersey Cares has taken care of  all the social issues in NJ; but little by little the organization is trying to improve our communities with the power of volunteering. And with that, there is still so much more to be done. If each one of us, takes the time out of our busy lives to spend just a couple of hours a month to help out a non-profit organization we can all make a big difference in our communities.

The first service project that I staffed was at a non-profit organization that distributes clothing and organizes a daily soup kitchen.  To be honest, this was the first time in my life that I have ever entered a soup kitchen. It was hard at first, for me to realize that there are people in our community that can’t find employment and need these services to live. Towards the end of the day, I was humbled, and I realized that this could be anyone of us using these services. Especially, after the economic recession, there are many highly educated people that were once living it “big”, but today cannot help provide for themselves or their families.

Since my service began, I have met so many dedicated volunteers that just wanted “to help their communities”.  There are so many people out there that do not have any underlying interest (money, networking, etc.) in becoming a volunteer, other than to lend a hand, and help their communities. On one of my recent site visits, I visited a non-profit organization that uses horses to assist people with either their physical or mental disability. My meeting was with 15 year old George.  George has been volunteering with the organization since he was 11yrs old and is now volunteering as the Volunteer Coordinator.  During our meeting, I saw the passion and dedication he had representing his organization. He introduced us to an 11yr old boy that was born paralyzed and is today beginning to walk.  With the assistance of regular everyday volunteers, this non-profit organization was able to make one boys disability something of the past.

Every day, I am amazed at the different services I lead and the work that many of the non-profits do to better our communities. Most if not all of these services, cannot be provided without the help of volunteers. We are all living together in this society, and if we want to improve it, it starts with each one of us to spend some time to help an organization so that it could continue to provide its services.  Whether or not you have a particular skill, there is definitely an opportunity for each one of us to effect change in our society by volunteering.

Somayah Elsamra

AmeriCorps Member

Jersey Cares