I benefit in many ways when I volunteer my time. I spend a lot of my time volunteering. It’s rewarding to give to the community. I volunteer teaching financial literacy at the veteran’s housing facility and at a local high school in my neighborhood, along with many other organizations. I have a passion for teaching financial and economic topics because I believe that most of the American population do not understand the basic financial concepts. Recently I was asked to volunteer to raise funds for The Portuguese Studies program at San Jose State University which promotes learning the Portuguese language and culture. Since I am of Portuguese decent, I thought it would be important to donate my time to help. But the organization that is near and dear to my heart is the Royal Family Kid’s Camp. It’s a faith based program and we spend six days at a camp with children who are in the custody of the county social service program. These children have been physically and emotionally abused. The campers are with us 24 hours a day and get to participate in swimming, fishing (for the boys), archery, tea party (for the girls) and birthday parties. As the week progresses, the campers get warmed up to their environment and we learn more about them. For example, there was one little boy who comes to my mind. He was nine years old and very rambunctious. One day he decided that he was going to throw rocks at the other campers and I had to tell him that he couldnt do that because he could hurt someone and then they might need to go home and he would get in trouble and have to go home. I told him that I loved him and didnt want to see him go home. He cocked his head at me with a surprised look and complied with my request. That evening right before dinner he tugged on my shirt and asked if I meant what I said and I got down on one knee and said, “Yes, I don’t want to see you go home.” And he said, “No. Did you mean it when you said that you loved me?” I replied, “Yes I meant it when I said that I loved you and I don’t want to see you go home.” His big brown eyes pierced mine and he said, “That’s the first time that anyone has ever told that they love me.” While wiping away my tears, I confirmed how special he was and we got in line for dinner. This is just one example of many children who have touched my heart as well as the hearts many other counselors who participate. Every year our hearts are touched in a special way. If you would like to learn more, please let me know.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 02:26:23 +0000
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