Washington DC Service Trip

This trip was quite impacting and eyeopening. The sites I attended were much different from places I have been in Rhode Island. I found myself doing much work that was often hands on. I had never packed that many cakes, and sliced that many potatoes, ever. One of the sites that really impacted me was S.O.M.E, it was a kitchen where we fed two rounds of meals to the homeless. Now this was different from the other sites where we just packed the food; here we passed the plate down the line and eventually handed it to the people who walked in the door. It was amazing to see all the people who walked in the door, some were injured, others exhausted, and there were a few who were in good condition considering their situation. It was sad though to think that these were just the people who were aware of the service that S.O.M.E offered, and that others would go hungry that day because they were not educated on where the proper services were provided.
What really inspired me and excited me was the feeling I had at the end of the day. This would not have been possible if it wasn't for the team effort I took part of every day. As a team, Mrs. DiChiaro, Chelsea, Alex, Eliza, Nikki, and myself conquered the challenges and carried out our service as we attended each site. Working side by side these individuals not only made things more fun, but together we felt as we had accomplished something because we each had individual skills that worked to make an unstoppable team. It was clear when we did a job well done because we would be thanked over and over for our presence that day. It was clear that these tasks were not a one person job. Yes, these organizations exist but they mean nothing if they don't have people to help operate them.
In the end, this trip took my value of service to a whole new level. I am extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to serve another community and visit another community. This trip took the "number of service hours" out of the equation of serving for me. When you are doing something you enjoy and that benefits others, you totally lose sight of time. I sometimes wished we could spend more time at these places; we would work so fast and have so much fun doing it, the next thing we knew it was time to head back to the hostel. I hope that our experience impacts the underclassmen and that when we leave service will begin to play a larger part in the Lincoln community. We are such a small state, but we have so many girls in the community who are capable of sharing their talents to help serve others.

Thank you all who made this trip possible!

- Jill Soscia