Community
When I think of what community means to me, I immediately think of home. I reflect on the people who dedicate their own time to give back to our town, county, and state to make it better for the generations to come. A community can be as simple as the people who make up a town, yet I believe the foundation of my community back at home on Long Island comes from our school system. Teachers, students, and their families all have immense power to come together for a cause they are passionate about. With a pandemic occurring, having a strong community to unite to solve conflicts is more important than ever. At home when the pandemic started, I as well as many other high schoolers, went to our local grocery store and purchased goods for the elderly within our town to prevent high-risk individuals from being exposed to the virus. The amount of sympathy I saw was tremendous, especially in a world where we often are so polarized. By seeing everyone come together to help out and make the pandemic a little easier for people’s older loved ones, you see the true good within humanity. I remember one thing I found incredibly inspiring was my art teacher using our extra craft supplies to create masks to then donate to hospital workers. Another issue outside the pandemic is the ongoing social issue of Black Lives Matter being fought against. In my community, we had a peaceful protest and spread awareness. We also encouraged the purchasing from businesses that donated directly to the cause, or small businesses run by black owners. Seeing many people in my home towns outrage after seeing the George Floyd video gave me hope for the future. It made me believe that people wanted to see a change to fix the adamant racial injustice we see as a national daily. By getting large groups together to fight for a health cause or even social cause is what creates a change. Change can be inspiring to see and result in viewers following suit, as one community can encourage others to do the same. My favorite act of community service I ever did was the day I went to the Ronald McDonald Foundation House. We often just walk into a fast-food establishment, see the little coin jar, and don’t think much about where the money is going. McDonald’s uses this money and more nonprofit funds to “create, find, and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children.” The house we went to on Long Island had many different residents staying there from all over the world with one goal, to help give their children the best medical treatment possible. Our goal of the day was to bake for the families as they stayed by their children’s bedside. Passing out the cookies to the families and just putting a simple smile on their faces during a time of immense hardship made me see that kindness truly goes a long way.
