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HUMA 1010
Professor Francis
Connor Philpot

Civic Engagement Essay

I decided to volunteer at the Utah Food Bank on April 16 and 17. I was there for about

and hour and a half each. The jobs weren’t up for choice, but they described what they might

have you do before you signed up. Working in the warehouse, packing food, or loading trucks.

For my volunteering I was packing and organizing food into boxes and putting them onto grates.

The Utah Food Bank has been around for 117 years, and is a nonprofit country wide distributor

of donated food for those in need. They also offer some other services as well. The location I

went to was considered to be their main hub of operations. The reason I choose this organization

is quite a simple one. I was taken there one other time. When I was 8 years old. My Dad was

going to do volunteer service and me and my brother tagged along. We didn’t really realize the

idea of why you would go to do volunteer work, as we were very young. So, we goofed off for

the most part. Ever since then I’ve thought about that place, and volunteering again to actually

know what it’s like. Especially since I now have a better understanding and want to help people.

This class gave me the opportunity to do just that. During the class’s unit on fundamentals of

religious belief, I decided to attend a Buddhist church service for an assignment. (Humanities

1010, Module 4: Fundamentals of Religious Belief) This service was interesting as a lot of it

focused on being of service or helping your fellow man. It had an impact on me, and it made me

want to help in a more direct way somehow. This led to me volunteering at the food bank. I felt

this organization was a good way of me helping in a more direct way, and I already wanted to go

given my past experience. I feel one of the basics of this class I learned the most from would be
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how it’s in human nature to want to help. (Fiero K. Gloria, Landmarks in Humanities) I wanted

to experience this theming for my volunteer work. I feel like the experience was great. I did feel

like a more responsible or conscientious citizen while doing it. I think this came from the idea

that I was doing something for the good of others. I was helping people. The whole time I was

doing this activity I had a good sense of strength and determination to complete the task I had

been given, and when I was finished with said task, I had warm feeling inside. COVID-19 didn’t

change as much as I thought it would. The groups that were allowed to come in were more

limited than they would usually be, and you had to wear a mask and sanitize. You also had to

make sure you weren’t sick, or didn’t have any COVID symptoms. I do feel like I contributed to

something in a good way. The world is in a difficult place right now for everyone, and

sometimes you want to help but you don’t know how. Volunteer work is one of the best ways to

find that outlet especially during a time like this. To do something right and contribute to

something good can help to solve a lot of problems you might have. Even if you don’t feel like

your cause helps a problem directly in your life, it can help to give you the resolve to do more.

Or to do better. It’s these reasons that I feel I contributed in a positive way, because I helped

someone out there who needed it. Maybe not in the grandest way, but in a way that mattered.