Reach Out Center: Reflections on the rewards of community service

With just over 100 days left in my undergraduate career at Assumption College, I find myself scanning over the last four years in an attempt to revive my "glory days." I scan over and relive pictures, memories, conversations and interactions, all chalk full with moments of laughter, tears, feelings of frustration, challenge, triumph and recognition. All these memories have culminated in the growth that has occurred in me over the past four years. There is little doubt that I am a completely different person today than I was on that rainy day in August when I arrived with a caravan of family members and possessions preparing to begin my new life as a freshman as Assumption. My personal change can be attributed to a number of things. One of the major contributors to the person I have developed into has been my service and leadership within the Reach Out Center and in the Worcester community. The opportunities I have been given through the Reach Out Center are tremendous, and subsequently my growth from these opportunities and experiences leave memories and pictures in my mind that I cherish.

I recall people and populations that I have had the honor and privilege of being introduced to and interacting with, such as the men at the Dismas House. The Dismas House is a transitional community that provides support and resources to formerly incarcerated men in an effort to help stabilize their lives and reintegrate them back into society. I feel so privileged and honored to have had the opportunity to meet these men, to interact with them and listen to their stories. I recall the in-depth, meaningful, and insightful conversations I have shared with the men at the Dismas House, those same men that society considers failures and useless burdens, yet I struggle to accurately share with others the immense impact these men and our conversations have had on me.

I continue to scan over memories of service at sites that send chills down my spine. The impact and beauty of human beings and the genuine exchange of love and wellbeing from one complete stranger to another is fried into my brain, and I'm not complaining. At the Lutheran Home, a nursing home and rehabilitation facility in Worcester, I recall the good nature of the elderly as their smiles radiate across their faces and their spirits come alive when they see the students from Assumption enter the room. All we "do" is sit, talk and share some delicacies, including non-alcoholic wine and cheese and crackers, but it is the highlight of their week. They remember our names, our stories and our experiences. They cherish the hour we spend with them. They share with us their life experiences, stories, and their hardships. The intimacy and credibility we build with the people we visit at the Lutheran Home in such a short amount of time is incredible and mind-boggling in today's world. I scan through more mental pictures and memories of laughter shared between me and members of this community, formerly strangers, who are seemingly opposite of me, yet we have bridged an invisible gap between each other and found something in common that allows us to share in genuine laughter and smiles: one of the world's most precious gifts.

I scan over conversations filled with tears and discussions of the hardships that our brothers and sisters, other human beings, experience day in and day out. At the Worcester Housing Authority, we spend an afternoon playing games or doing a craft with the residents. As we sit and paint a craft or play a game, we talk and share, smile and laugh. I scan through and hold onto interactions with these former strangers that bring me to life and energize me, all the while reminding me of the true meaning of life.

I scan over situations of frustration and pain when I find myself trying to interact with someone who is so used to being ignored, overlooked and abused that they simply cannot bring themselves to trust the good in another human being. Yet sometimes this frustration leads to triumph and breakthroughs when a bridge is finally built and trust is formed. The Reach Out Center formerly sent volunteers to the Visitation House, a house that serves women with crisis pregnancies in Worcester. It was frustrating at first to try to build trust and bridge the gap with the residents at the Visitation House. We (their peers) were coming from Assumption College to "help" them, the needy, pregnant, young un-wed mothers. They were so used to their peers looking at them as problems that when we first met them it was not easy to gain their trust. But, with time, we began to do just that. Trust in itself is a triumph, but when it is experienced between strangers it is an exceptional and merciless triumph.

Many people consider those who do community service as the people who give to needy, the less fortunate and the underprivileged the gift of time, clothing, food, shelter or what-have-you. In many cases, this is true. Yet, I consider what I get from spending time with and interacting with the people I serve to be the true gift. It is a true gift, an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to meet, interact and walk with another on their life's journey, to listen to their stories and their experiences, and to grow from the exchange. I am so grateful for the triumphs and the challenges that service opportunities through the Reach Out Center and Assumption College have offered to me. I have grown as a leader, an advocate, a helper, but most importantly as a human in ways I never anticipated just four short years ago.