Second Grade Volunteering

By Suzanne Quinn

A group of 2nd graders went to volunteer at Caritas of Austin after school on September 16. We filled rice bags for their food pantry, and we learned a lot about the number of people in Austin who do not have their basic needs met. The girls were surprised to hear that Caritas serves over 20,000 people each year with food and education services. Molly Sipe, the Volunteer Director of Caritas, asked each of the girls what they were thankful for, and the girls were shocked to hear that things such as "food," "home," "family," and "GSA" were things that so many people did not have.

The girls really enjoyed the project, and Audrey even asked her Mom if she could fill up some rice bags at home! Catie said that "it felt good to help other people" and that her favorite part was "playing with rice." The project was organized through a new local nonprofit, Little Helping Hands that helps families with children ages 4-12 find age appropriate volunteer opportunities. This fall, we will be working through Little Helping Hands in the future on projects with VinCare (moving a formerly homeless mom and her children into their first apartment) and with graffiti clean up. In addition, we will be volunteering on our own with Green Corn Project (working in their communities gardens that supply organic produce to those in need) and Goodwill Industries (sorting donations).

We are trying out a lot of volunteer activities with various organizations to see which ones the girls enjoy the most, and we hope to have a regular schedule of activities by the spring. The girls feel great about giving back to the community and are learning a very important lesson – not to take the little things for granted!