Volunteer assignment

Arica Moss
1. For my volunteer assignment I did my time at my church, Stonecreek in Urbana Illinois in the Children's ministry on Sunday mornings.
2.The service that I did reflected many concepts that I learned while taking FCS courses at Eastern Illinois University. The main thing that I learned was that we need to meet people where they are at, and encourage them to strive for more. A lot of times people do not receive help because they do not know that it is available to them. This happens in churches, just like in communities. My church has so many things to offer families and we try to use that Sunday morning experience to educate them on some resources.
3. Every time I volunteered I met some new people. I had to talk to people and be friendly. Doing this helpled me to learn that I was in the midst of so many professionals, and families in need. You cannot look at someone and tell what profession they are in. I met a Doctor at the local clinic. She shared with me that they would be having a flu clinic coming up in the near future. Because I am always "working" I passed this information on to other families. I was also able to help some families get signed up for "The Big Give" that my church does every Thanksgiving by making sure families have a decent meal that day. Another lady I met actually runs the Girl Scouts program at my daughters school, which was awesome for me because we are interested in this! To be honest I did not use to be a big fan of networking until last year when I had to go to a job fair for class. I never really felt the need. However, now that I work in Family Services I'm ALWAYS trying to link my families with resources that can help them. What I gained from this experience is the fact that no matter where you are at, you can be networking with other individuals. You never know what they have to offer, and you never know what you can offer them.
4. This type of volunteer work is so crucial to the community and families. Our Children's ministry serves children 6 weeks through college. There is something for everyone. This is a place where the whole family can come and get spiritually full. Also my church does so many things in the community. It does not just limit it's help to members of the church. The Children's ministry helps families to enjoy the church service, or class that they are taking at the church, while thier children are being well cared for.
5. I really enjoy volunteering. I encourage my children to volunteer also. I usually volunteer with the older children, but for this time I worked in the nursery with the infants and toddlers. It was so much fun! I am a Christian and have been for years. I do remember how frustrating it was for me as a new mom sitting in church trying to entertain a toddler. It was horrible. This is why I am thankful that I have the opportunity to make someone else's experience better.