My time at the high school was fun and i learned many things. I helped with many different kids who had different issues and connected with then and genuinely enjoyed it.

This experience was great for me. It was very fun and opened me up to new people. I did many activity's like coffee and new, walking club and bingo. Working with these people made me happy and feel good. Hearing their storys about their life and spending time with them made me feel very comfortable and spending so much time with them i became there friend on a personal level.

Helped unload baskets of food and set it up so we could hand it out to people that came in for food. Organized all the baskets and food and walked the people through to get there food.

Lucas Hihn

Mrs Tietjen

Senior Service

04/08/24

My Service Experience

My service experience was something I will truly remember for the rest of my life. Before doing these acts of service I had never really thought or done any kind of service so going into this I didn't know what to expect. When I first set up these services I was kinda annoyed and honestly did not want to do them but wow would I think differently after. The first service I ever did was at a school about 20 minutes away working alongside a teacher that taught and cared for kids with disabilities. I first thought this was going to be a lot of work and just hoped everything went smoothly. I met the kids and they were all so happy and it made me feel a type of way, like a happiness that I could put a smile on these kids' faces. Me and the kids went around school and did fun activities like playing games and playing sports which they love to do since they do not get to do it often. I showed them a few different sports like soccer, baseball, and my favorite hockey, but the sport that they seemed to like the most was basketball. They would spend hours in the gym throwing the ball in the basket and learning how to dribble. On my last day there I wanted to do something special for them so I set up a basketball game and picked teams. They were so excited when I told them they all went to the gym as fast as possible and started playing. At the end of my service, I was sad to see myself go. I gave them all a hug and said my goodbyes and haven't seen them since but I am planning to visit very soon. 

 The other service I will be talking about is my service at the senior home. First getting to the home it was very quiet and I didn't know what to expect or what to do. I saw the nice lady who was going to look over me, Danielle. She introduced me to some of the folks we walked past then went into her office to talk about what I was going to do. She first explained to me where everything is and how to get to workers in case of an emergency and what to do. She told me that I would do activities and service to the folks. Hearing that I was thinking to myself that it isn't too bad and to just push through it. I started getting the hang of things throughout the first day and figured out where to find everything. After I was done on my first day I got to know where things were, talked, and interacted with a lot of the seniors there. When I went back I was not expecting to see so many people so joyed that I was there that it made me feel happy. I jumped to a table and started helping the folks play bingo and other activities, I also got into a couple of games. I then started bringing meals to the folk's room and setting everything up for them and too make sure they were ok. This experience truly changed my life. My last day during the summer there was very and I had to say goodbye to all the folks I created relationships with. When I came back for Christmas break I had to go back there. I went to the home and spent a couple of hours seeing everyone and hanging out with them for a bit. 

The last service I will be talking about is the Thanksgiving food drive service that was run by Gilmour. Me and my girlfriend Elizabeth both thought it was a good idea to sign up. We got there early and excited then got on the bus and went to the building we were going out of. As the day went on we met so many great and interesting people. I walked people through the line and helped them pick their food. While talking to so many of these people I heard so many stories about their lives and a lot of them made me really sad and I was very grateful that day that I am in a good spot and that people are struggling. Heading back to school I was very happy I got to help people and make their Thanksgiving a little better.

All three of these services really helped me put my life in perspective and made me very grateful for everything I have. I am beyond thankful to Gilmour for introducing me to these services and helping me get outside my comfort zone. Along the way I have made relationships with people that I will never forget.