I Understand the Value of Giving to Others

By Alchemy Malcom

(Editor’s note: Alchemy Malcom is a high school student. During the summer of 2012 she volunteered two days a week at the St. Vincent de Paul South Seattle Food Bank. We asked her to give us some feedback about her experience. She was kind enough to write the essay that follows. We are proud of her for her values, her hard work, and her desire to help others.

Volunteering at the St. Vincent De Paul South Seattle Food Bank has been very fulfilling to me in a way that makes me feel like I have done someone a good deed. A lot of people believe giving to charity is a waste of time, but to the people that come to the St. Vincent de Paul South Seattle Food Bank, it means the world to some of them.

Without charity, the homeless might go a day without food, or a struggling mother’s kids might have empty bellies for the night. When you give to charity, you ease the struggle that these individuals and families have to go through every day of their lives. Giving to charity is definitely a great thing you can do.

For me, giving my time and money to help these people is an incredible feeling. It makes me feel like I am doing something that is so important and life changing. To see the people at the food bank smiling and thanking me for being there, it makes me really see how truly powerful it is just to be there handing out food.

This is possible merely because there are people in the world that truly care. The people at the food bank really show that they care about what they are doing and that is a wonderful thing to see. Volunteers take days out of their week to come and hand out food for free, and that alone, is so good to see. They don’t whine, because they are happy to be making a difference and being there for someone when they are having hard times.

Helping people realize the value of giving is a very difficult task, but it is so important. We must try our hardest to get people to see the value. I believe people need to have a hands-on experience with giving. I never realized how beneficial it was to give to others, until I was in the St. Vincent de Paul South Seattle Food Bank, handing out my first cans of food to the homeless man in line, eagerly waiting the food we were distributing.

To get more people to help out and understand how valuable it is, we need to spread the word by asking friends, neighbors, and relatives, to volunteer. Tell them how great it is and how good it will make them feel. Then hopefully they might consider volunteering.

If you have ever worked at a food bank or helped do community service, make sure you voice your opinion on it if it positively impacted your life because we always need more people to help. There are never enough people in the world to lend a helping hand. We need them all to chime in and help.

To describe to anyone just how important it is to give to charity is nearly impossible, but to experience it first hand is absolutely the best way to fulfill that task. Giving my time up to these people is the best decision that I have ever made and I would never take back the hours and diligent work that I have put into providing these people with food and care.