When I first stumbled upon this scholarship from the American Legion, I knew right away that I wanted to apply for it because of the similarities between what the American Legion and what I both stand for. I few words that I would use to describe the American Legion and myself would be, service, integrity, and hard work. These are a few things that I take very seriously and attempt to involve in my life everyday. I pride myself on these high character traits and try to use them in my community, during sporting events, at home, and at my school. I also implement these traits while fulfilling my civic duties by doing service around my community. Some of these services involve, the 20 hours of service I am required to do each year to graduate
“Veteran poverty should be unimaginable, but sadly, it is an unpleasant fact today for some veterans” (“The Ugly Face of Veteran Poverty in the United States”). Many homeless veterans are not getting the support they need. People need to be witness to this injustice and stand up for it. “The kind of hope we need is an orientation of the spirit a willingness to position ourselves sometime, someway, someplace in hopeless spaces and be a witness and say something” (Stevenson). Veterans are living in horrible conditions after serving in the military because the government is not providing enough support for veterans.
My favorite act of service that I have ever done was through the school’s project based learning. I had heard that the NWC Men’s Basketball Team was building a house a Haitian family who’s house had collapsed with all their belongings. I then contacted the men’s basketball coach asking if my group and I could raise money to buy items for their house. We organized a traditional bake sale, as well as an online bake sale, to raise money for the family. In the midst of baking 40 dozen cookies and 38 dozen cupcakes, I was coordinating with a missionary in Haiti, Krisie Mompremier, who knew what the family needed most. After countless hours of baking, my group and I were able to raise $1250 which we used to purchase basketball hoops, plates, beds, silverware, cups, schooling for the children, and uniforms. Although we were not able to directly deliver these goods to the family ourselves, we were able to see pictures that were equally rewarding. Their faces and gratitude made the many nights of little sleep well worth
In my community, I donate to St Jude’s Hospital for cancer research. Almost half of my family has had some kind of cancer. Donating to St. Jude’s Hospital helps me give back to people who have already lost their lives, are undergoing treatment, or anyone who might have cancer in the future. In my 7th grade year, another student and I raised money to help find a cure for Type One Diabetes. The money that we raised went to an organization called “Beyond Type One” so that they can use it to perform scientific experiments to find a cure. Finally, in my 5th grade year at LaPerche Elementary, I created an organization that helped soldiers. I worked with my 5th grade teacher to help spread the word. I collected all sorts of toiletries and essentials for soldiers that had been deployed. As you can see, being a good citizen is near and dear to my
When I was just a brownie, Girl Scouts was mostly about getting the prettiest patches for my sash and selling the most boxes of cookies, but over the years it has evolved into a much more meaningful activity. At the end of middle school and the start of high school, we did events such as preparing and serving meals at the Branford soup kitchen and organizing crafts for visits to the Ronald McDonald house in New Haven. Both of these events have greatly broadened my understanding of service to the community. While doing fundraisers or various drives are of unparalleled importance, literally interacting with the people my service is aimed to help allowed me to understand how donating a small fraction of time can be a way to try and better someone else’s day. Our troop has also been involved in other projects like fundraising for the local foundation Hope For Raptors, a group dedicated to protecting native birds and educating the community about them. Another activity we have been involved in is volunteering at the annual Bauer Farm Harvest Festival, which led me to another service organization I have been involved
Webster's dictionary defines award as “To confer or bestow as being deserved or merited or needed.” Allowing people to recognize others who are worthy is one of the main reasons for giving out awards. In school and at home, I work hard and remain persistent in everything I do. Furthermore, I am efficient at managing my time and I always finish my work to the best of my ability. Some things I enjoy doing are taking my dogs for walks, finishing projects that I know I have done my best on, and working with others. During my free time, I enjoy volunteering at park cleanups and food banks. But, I most enjoy hanging out and playing around with my friends. Possessing all the necessary qualities, plus other exceptional attributes, compels me to believe that I am worthy of this award.
The issue of veteran benefits in the United States is not taken as seriously as it should be in our country, even though it is a growing problem that needs to be addressed. The lack of available funding for veterans is especially obvious when compared to that available for lower income citizens, or even illegal immigrants. Also, what does exist appears to fall short in taking care of veteran’s needs. Considering that these veterans are people who have risked their lives fighting for this country, the fact that they are not receiving immediate benefits or even what they have earned is unfair. The VA needs to change the way it deals with Veterans and their bout with homelessness, consistent and worthwhile employment, and mental
The four pillars of the National Honor Society consists of leadership, scholarship, service, and character. These characteristics must be possessed by an individual in order to be a member of the society. I believe that I possess all the these four qualities and should become a member of National Honor Society.
On November 11 of every year, we have a day to celebrate our veterans. For many people, it is a day to honor our veterans in addition to thank them for what they done for our country. For me, it feels much more than just honoring them. There are three reasons why Veterans Day means more to me; my Grandpa, family history, and my birthday.
Veterans Day is an official holiday we celebrate on November 11th, we celebrate all those living and dead who served in the US armed forces. The formal name of Veterans day was Armistice day and was changed to Veteran’s day by President Eisenhower in 1954. The first Veterans day celebrated was on November 11th 1919, a year after World War I ended. Veterans day started when there was an agreement signed in 1918 on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to end World War I.
Veteran’s all over the United States are retiring, getting less and less of the benefits that they used to. My brother was going to enlist and asked some people whether or not he should. They said they weren't going to tell him not to enlist, but they did say that it's not as beneficial as it was in the past. You don’t get as many benefits when you come back, as you used to. This isn’t something that should be happening. Why should you risk your life, but then be getting jipped out on the benefits that people in the past did?
You left your family and friends into a bloody war you could of died but you didn’t mind. You took your life for mine. You made things in life better then if you didn’t go into the war. My papa went into the war and he made it out safe. Those stripes and stars in our flag came from you. You saved many lives on the other side of the battle field. You chose to leave behind your loved ones and your life to die, make it home safe, or to have major injuries. Some people don’t care about the Veterans. But I care about veterans and all the people writing these essays.
Returning combat veterans have difficulties contributing to our society based on their problems with substance abuse. There is an issue of returning combat veterans not being able to afford treatment for their illnesses, so they resort to self-medicating and use drugs and alcohol. Although it is worth considering that some combat veterans manage to escape their addiction for some time, but will usually end up relapsing and only hurt themselves more. We may also be concerned about some combat veterans not being able to adjust to their new lives and resorting to substance abuse a method of stress relief. Returning combat veterans are unable to help the country they protected due to not being able
My family has always encouraged me to become great and a better person, and volunteering really fits into my life. As I
Volunteering is very important; it is both vital to the people receiving aid as it satisfies their needs, and it is important to those administering aid as it gives them joy and helps them become better people. The reason I volunteered for St. Margaret 's Fair was so I could finally stop sitting around and get to work. When I saw the opportunity to do something important, I grasped at it; I selected the ring toss game was because I felt it would be fun and important. I do believe my job at the St. Margaret 's Fair was very important as it both collected money for those in need and, at the same time, instilled me with a love of volunteering. The purpose of the fair was to collect money for humanitarian efforts in the local area. At that time, my region of Texas had ample poverty, and the church wanted to abate that burden. As a result, they created the fair, and it helped families ever since. My contribution might have been modest, but it was important because it, along with other contributions, added up into one big contribution that truly benefited the community. In addition to the money it raised, my job was important to me because it gave me a love of volunteering. As I mentioned above, this was my first attempt at volunteering, so before this, I never volunteered. This event showed me the joy of volunteering and established a love within me that still has not died. These two factors are why I will never forget this event, and why it inspires me to