When I accepted the job as moderator, I thought it would mostly be about fundraising and handing out first aid kits. Maybe a blood drive, every once and a while. Then this crazy huge storm came through, devastating homes and changing the landscape of many areas of NYC and LI. So I donated money to the Red Cross and thought I did what I could. Then my college became a temporary shelter and the club president called and asked if I could come down and help them hand things out to people who needed them. This ended being most of my week last week, and we hit a lot more bumps than I expected.
As good as it was to help those in need, we almost had to fight and get constant approval to do it every day. And the kids who were there to help out were frustrated and demoralized. I found myself in a serious adult position. For the first time I had people, less than 10 years younger than me, truly looking to me for answers, guidance, and support. I really hope I helped them and that they don't get discouraged from helping in the future, but I felt that I was making it up as I went along, which I guess is what every adult does. I think we will get more people interested in the club when the other students have seen first hand that natural disasters happen at home, not just in far away places. And if this winter is as bad as they say it is, I think more of these kids should be prepared for little hiccups to big disasters. I think there is a lot of red tape when working with an organization as big as the Red Cross, but much of it is there for a reason. I have seen a lot of good work that these volunteers do and had people thank us for our generosity. I hope that I learn to be a little less selfish from this and maybe figure out how to be an adult that helps some of these kids stay on this course of good deeds and helping their fellow man.
Treat others as you would like to be treated.
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