Community service programs and their social impact

Community Service

Volunteer work has punctuated my undergraduate career with service in three distinct yet related areas of community participation. A position with Heal the Bay allowed me to witness the environmental devastation occurring on neighborhood beaches. For a few hours each week, we harvested debris, helping local wildlife escape devastation wrought from sewage, dumping, oil leaks, garbage, and other pollutants. Moreover, our work helped improve the quality of local beaches to make them more enjoyable for community members, tourists, and families.

Volunteering with New Beginnings, I worked one on one with clients at a local drug and alcohol rehabilitation and treatment center. Challenging and often disheartening, the position put me in touch with the realities of addiction. I witnessed first hand how drug and alcohol abuse not only wreaks physical and mental havoc on the user but also on his or her family and friends. New Beginnings provides outreach services for individuals in need, regardless of their ability to pay. In fact, economically disadvantaged individuals could receive free medial support with the organization.

In addition to my work with Heal the Bay and New Beginnings, I also served for several hours at a community hospital as an assistant and observer to resident doctors. As an aspiring physician, I witnessed all manner of day-to-day realities in the world of health care. In whatever way I could, I helped doctors and other health care workers offer the best support and care to their clients, many of whom came in with emergencies or acute needs.