In the Village of Gurnee and the Warren Township High School community, volunteering

is a major aspect of most students, including myself. Community service is extremely important

to me as I believe it is our individual duty to serve others. By volunteering, individuals

immensely contribute to their community and make a difference in the world.

The beginning of my community service started in 2007 when my family assisted with

the Catholic Charities Gift Program at our church. This program provides presents to families

with low-income during the holiday season. With early engagement in volunteering since the age

of five, I began to develop a passion for serving others and, starting in my middle school years, I

undertook responsibilities in all aspects of this program. Each year, we write out the information

of 2000 in-need children and distribute them to members of our church. The main work is

accomplished during Gift Weekend when we organize the gifts and prepare to move them to the

Catholic Charities’ warehouse. This program has given me the chance to personally connect with

those in need in my community. The amount of gratitude we receive from these families always

reminds me that my community engagement has positively impacted individuals of all ages.

Holding an essential role and providing over 20 hours of service each year to the Catholic

Charities Program, I looked into more ways I could give back to my community when I entered

high school. The first organization I joined upon entering Warren was the Future Business

Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter, where I gained connections for the majority of my

volunteer experiences. This organization partners with local community centers and schools as a

way to give high school students a chance to serve our community. As I began to become more

involved in this organization my freshman year, I had no idea the impact this path would have on

me and all the individuals affected by my service. During my first three years in FBLA, I served
in various officer roles, volunteered for countless organizations, and became a liaison between

our chapter and local community centers. In May of 2019, I was elected as the president of our

FBLA chapter for the 2019-2020 academic year. My growth of leadership, responsibility, and a

cumulation of over 450 community service hours led me to serve excellently in this new

position. To go beyond my past accomplishments, I decided to start a community service project

to further the amount of impact I had. This idea brought me to connect with a fellow FBLA

member and friend, Lucia, who would serve as a co-lead with me in this project. During the

summer of 2019, Lucia and I researched many prominent issues within our school, community,

and country to develop ideas that would be shared with our FBLA project committee.

How would you react if the human population was faced with an ethical dilemma? This is

the question I faced upon the discovery of the world’s plastic consumption. In recent years,

environmental deterioration has been a hot topic across many platforms. New evidence is coming

to light about the sustainability of our current, wasteful lifestyle and overuse of disposable

plastics. This problem has shown devastating effects on southern North America from

hurricanes, oceans with rising sea levels, and animals with the littering of waste. From

researching this issue, I decided I wanted to be a part of a movement to ensure we all have a

future. To combat this, Lucia and I decided to put our efforts towards a project that would help

decrease the amount of plastic waste in the oceans injuring and killing our animal species. Upon

the discovery of a project that turns plastic shopping bags into sleeping mats through crocheting,

our committee decided to use this opportunity to minimize the environmental crisis while

alleviating the pressing homelessness situation in our country.

 After communicating with our project committee, Lucia and I spoke with over 20 local

businesses and community centers to gain support for our project. This community outreach

allowed us to collect over 10,000 plastic shopping bags in two months. Next, our committee

reached out to other Warren extracurricular activities with overlapping interest and invited their

members to attend our workdays for assistance in carrying out this mat-making process. Our

final phase of this project was to hold committee workdays where 83 Warren students and FBLA

members assisted directly in the process of turning plastic bags into crocheted sleeping mats

during a total of 10 meetings. Throughout the 2019-2020 academic year, our project was

recognized within our school district at board meetings, in our community by our mayor and

many businesses, and acknowledged nationally by the FBLA organization. From Lucia’s and I’s

effort to serve our community, our project had a significant impact on people of many ages in the

Village of Gurnee and increased awareness of our two important objectives: aiding the homeless

and recognizing our community’s plastic waste consumption. Our committee’s efforts reached a

large portion of the 4,500 Warren population, members of our community, and people around the

country. Because the project reached many individuals, it offered significant benefits by

encouraging a sustainable mindset for the members of our community and providing comfort to

homeless individuals as plastic bags were saved from going into landfills and instead repurposed

to improve their lives. My commitment to serve my community brought many students, faculty,

and members of Gurnee together to prevent plastic waste and promote the spirit of giving to

those in-need in our community.

By gaining early involvement into volunteering, I was led on a path to serve others.

Throughout my high school and college journeys, I have accumulated over 520 hours of
community service through being active in many school organizations. Specifically, the two

mentioned projects I was heavily active in have significantly impacted my character. By

providing comfort to homeless individuals and happiness to low-income families, I have realized

how fortunate I am to have access to many resources. I have become more appreciative of every

opportunity I am given and express my gratitude to others more. By serving others, I have

achieved endless happiness that has motivated me to continue my service.