Aas Essay

Community Service Learning Reflective Essay

April 11, 2013

The community service learning agency I chose to give my services to is called Street Grace. Their mission statement says that, “Street Grace mobilizes community resources — financial, human and material — to help individuals and organizations effectively fighting DMST through awareness, empowerment and engagement.  Street Grace is working to end DMST in Atlanta, with a vision of ending it throughout the United States.” This organization works with children at risk for prostitution, modern day slavery, drug abuse, homelessness and other negative activities. Their main focus is to prevent these things from occurring. Through this organization I also worked specifically in a retail store called Wellspring Treasures where products are sold to raise money for victims through donated items and other items created by the recipients of this service. Wellspring mission statement “is to confront the issue of childhood sexual abuse and exploitation through awareness, training, and treatment programs for women and girls.” My primary tasks at the store were mostly behind the scenes including but not limited to vacuuming, sweeping, steaming clothes for sale, organizing donations and keeping adequate records of product shipments. My experience impacted me personally, academically and civically by encouraging me to commit to volunteering my time for the good of tomorrow, enhancing my awareness in the area of classism in that people may need help despite geographical location and civically in the efforts put forth by the community to provide a support system for their troubled youth.

Volunteering for Wellspring Treasures challenged me to think of things I can do to prevent exploitations and also that you never know who may be in need. Working for this organization allowed me to see that people need help in places you would not typically think of; children are starving from the slums to the suburbs and everywhere in...