Helping Homeless: What You Can Do? - Essay Sample

Introduction

The urge to help the homeless is something that usually comes to the minds of many people, especially when they come across someone who is homeless and living on the streets. Soon after leaving them behind in the streets, we begin to think we could have done something different to change the status of the individual. The major challenge that many individuals face in the attempt to help the homeless is exactly what they should do to assist them, that is, whether they should give them food or begin a conversation with them. This paper presents a summary of the experience I had in feeding the homeless as wells as how I could apply the information gained through the exercise to my community.

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Experience at Goodwill - Feeding the Homeless

At Goodwill, I participated in numerous activities that were aimed at feeding the homeless and ensuring that they feel accepted within society. Most importantly, I was involved in donation activities, where we donated foodstuffs to the homeless. In the organization, each person was tasked to take care of two homeless children. So we could go to the restaurant and purchase extra meals for the kids we took care of. One important thing is that at any given time, I gave the two homeless kids food they became happier than before. Such happy faces made me feel fantastic, for I was able to make people living in such conditions to afford happiness.

Furthermore, I was also involved in donating money so that the children could purchase more nutritious foodstuffs and clothes. This was very vital because most of the homeless kids wear the same clothes for long periods, and they often lack money to purchase new ones. The donated sums of money were placed strategically in donation boxes or even given directly to the homeless children within the organization and on the nearby street.

I was also involved in campaigns and several outreaches aimed at constructing houses for the homeless. These activities were organized by the Goodwill organization. In these activities, I learned the vitality and significance of one dollar. When the dollar was brought together, I observed that it could be used to do great things to the homeless, such as the construction of houses, buying of food, and clothes. I also realized that donating to the homeless does not only have an impact on the lives of the affected individuals but also teaches kindness and makes one become a better person within society.

The items that we donated to the homeless within the organization include water bottles and soft drinks, peanut butter, canned food with pull tabs that could be eaten, cheese, tea coffee and other hot beverages, mints, among others. We also considered donating gift cards to homeless children. These cards could be used to access food shops and cafes except alcohol dealers. We also encouraged the public to consider coffee schemes where they would buy extra coffee and leave some pending so that the homeless children who may not afford to buy may also have some.

Application of the Information to My Community

From my experience, I learned that helping the homeless must not necessarily be difficult, as many individuals in the community may perceive it to be. The homeless may only require little encouragement, compassion, and acknowledgment to make them feel like other human beings. Each member of the community could play a role in brightening the lives of the homeless members of the society just by sharing some moments with them.

I appreciated the fact that just a little gift and quality time are highly crucial to the lives of the homeless people within society. Most of the homeless people in the streets may spend the whole day being ignored. Therefore a simple 'hello' could significantly play a role in improving the quality of a person's day. I also learned that any member of the community could play a role in improving the conditions of the homeless within the society by asking them if they could need any help and offering to buy them anything such as a cup of coffee et cetera.

From my experience at Goodwill, I also learned that one dollar could play essential roles in alleviating the conditions of the homeless within society. Each member of the community could engage in the donation of some little money to help in feeding the homeless amongst us.

The act of donating towards feeding the homeless within the community does not only improve the living conditions of the homeless but also teaches the virtue of kindness and boosts the personal values of the donor. Thus, the community should not tire in offering assistance to the homeless within society.

Reasons for Choosing Goodwill - Feeding the Homeless Activity

All human beings need food for life sustenance as well as gain the energy required for survival and body functioning. However, social concerns such as homelessness and neglect result in this basic necessity being unmet by the affected individuals. It has always pained me to see young children dying in the streets because of hunger and starvation due to homelessness in which they can do nothing about.

The feeling of empathy and concern for the homeless children I the streets steered me to engage in an activity that could restore happiness on the faces of the homeless, hungry kids in the streets. However, after the event, I realized that each member of the community could do something to restore hope to the street children.