During this volunteering experience I improved my teamwork skills. I worked with others to clean the plant beds by pulling weeds, cleaning up the trash, and planting new vegetables. I also improved my gardening skills by learning to use different tools. This service made me more aware of the food disparities in Memphis. This experience made me realize how important places like this are. Not only providing food for people but fresh food grown from a garden makes a difference and is so needed in the community. I got to know some of my fellow emerging leaders better and talked to people I had not seen in a while. I also met some new people who also go to University of Memphis. We worked together as a team to clean up the plant beds. My service contributed to the mission of this organization by cleaning up all the overgrown weeds and trash that had piled up allowing for a fresh start for the garden. As far as challenges faces I have planted plants before however I never really used any tools so that was new for me. Also in our bed that we were cleaning a tree had managed to grow so it took all of us to dig and pull out the tree so that there would be room for the new vegetables.
This experience showed me all that goes in to gardening and gardening for a community. Not only just the gardening aspect but the community aspect as well it brings people together. There were kids that came that live close to the garden and they helped and seemed to really enjoy themselves. I learned that this garden really means something to the community it serves and it means something to the kids that come every weekend. I worked as part of a team when it came to pulling weeds. However, I worked by myself when I was cleaning off bricks for the new beds that were going to be built. I had to clean the grass that had grown into the bricks and lay them out to be washed. This service contributed to the mission of the organization by helping them to keep up their community garden and helping to plant more vegetables. I think if there were anything that I would change about this experience it would be that I would bring my own gloves.
I volunteered at the Catholic Charities Community Garden. During the event I learned the importance of teamwork because as a group we were able to completely revive the garden. This event challenged my problem solving abilities because I have never really gardened so I had to learn what the most effective way to pull plants out of the ground were, especially the stubborn ones. We worked as a team at this event and I was removing the weeds as well taking all the discards to the trash. Working as a team made this event a lot better because I was able to connect with people while also doing the job more efficiently. An unexpected challenge was that there was a large plant that was stuck deep in the ground and it took four of us with a shovel to try and remove it. I liked this event and I would definitely attend another.
1. What skills did you develop or improve through this service experience?
- I attended Catholic Charities and we worked on some gardening. I learned how to pull weeds out and how to clean up a garden in order to start planting again.
2. What did you learn about the community or environment you served?
- I learned that this organization provides food to those who struggle to have a meal during the day. I thought it was something so nice considering the location in which it was in.
3. Did you work individually or as part of a team, and how did that impact your experience?
- I worked with my friend, which made this experience even more enjoyable than it already was. Being able to serve together was a great experience and made it all worth it.
4. How did the organization support or guide you during the service?
- The nice lady who was guiding us was very helpful and made sure we all knew what we were doing. She made sure everyone was good and even gave us a break.
5. What would you change about your approach to this service opportunity in the future?
- I think what I would change is that I didn't really want to go because I was very sleepy, but it actually turned out to be very enjoyable. I think next time I would just give it a chance before getting too into my head about it.
