Dominique Dominguez

There were many more St. Mary's students participating in volunteer work than usual. The John Paul II high school also had families volunteering inside and outside the Catholic Charities center. Archbishop Gustavo joined us in a communal prayer before we passed out Thanksgiving boxes to families in need. This experience was much different from our regular clothes closet hours, in the sense that people felt a calling to serve others, to want to fold clothes, and to intentionally to bring Christ's light to those in need.
It's a shame that not all students see service hours as beneficial, and it's also disappointing that only around the holidays do people dedicate time to being of service to others. Nonetheless, help is always wanted. When volunteers work together as one, serve as one, and unite as one, so much can be accomplished!

Today's experience was different in the sense that I was able to see individuals grab clothes from the closet and the food pantry. It's sad to think that some people can't afford simple canned goods. These are things I take for granted living the way I do. I've never felt so privileged before and I'm not sure it's the best feeling. Yes, I am grateful for everything that I have from my parents and that I've earned, but I don't think so many individuals should need assistance for a lunch sack.
Some things I did notice that also caused me to question the intentions of the individuals there was that a few of the women had a lot of jewelry and make up. As a girl, I know that stuff is not cheap. The money spent on those things could easily be spent on multiple trips to the groceries. I'm not saying that these individuals don't deserve the food, every person in need does, but better decisions could be made to ensure that they can receive food on their own.
As far as the clothes closet, I'm glad to see the warm clothes being donated during the Fall season! Some of the women who picked out clothing were super excited to see all the warm clothes. I hope they enjoy the new clothes they received and take good care of them.

I think we folded a deceased woman's clothes. It was quite interesting, a little weird, but we prayed that she make it into Heaven! I was working with a few classmates and as time passed we noticed that every bag we had folded were from the same type of bag, same size, and what really made it weird was when we got a bag of about ten bras and fifteen pairs of socks. Once we saw the bras, we immediately thought that the woman may have died. Bags and bags of clothes later, we hypothesized that the woman may have died and wished for her clothes to be donated to Catholic Charities. It's beautiful to think that this woman might have had her whole life planned out; all the way to the point of deciding where her clothes goes.

There wasn't too much interaction with individuals other than the other volunteers. I did meet some of the people that worked at Catholic Charities. One thing I found odd was that the people that worked in the front were not that nice, maybe it's because they deal with the same people every day. The experience was different, so I can't wait to see what the rests of the visits hold in store.