Volunteering with Room in the Inn was a meaningful experience that helped me grow both personally and professionally. I developed stronger communication, empathy, and problem-solving skills, especially when plans changed or guests needed extra support. The experience gave me a deeper understanding of homelessness and the challenges people face beyond what’s visible. It shifted my perspective on community, reminding me that small acts of service can have a big impact. I worked as part of a supportive team and built connections with both volunteers and guests, which made the experience even more rewarding. Serving aligned with my values and reinforced my desire to pursue a career in community service or nonprofit work. While there were unexpected challenges, especially around handling emotional conversations, I learned to be present and listen. Going forward, I plan to stay involved with Room in the Inn and continue growing through service.
This experience has influenced my future career and educational goals by reminding me that I need to spread the word to individuals within my local communities about all of the good work that is occurring at this facility. By educating my peers about how good people can fall on harsh times and that there is an entire community dedicated to helping get these people back on their feet, it will help expand this network of help, and ultimately aid our beloved city. Professionally I was informed that many businesses can partner up to sponsor events that The Room In The Inn holds. These events provide fundraising opportunities, which are vital for the furthering of the programs they offer are mostly funded through private and small state funded grants.
This experience helped shift my views further into the belief that in order to help fix our city and aid our fellow Memphians it will take all of us. While you should not expect someone to volunteer at every available opportunity as individuals must take care of their own personal matters first, everyone has a couple hours a month in which they can give back and aid their fellow man. By donating a couple hours here, a couple dollars there, and remaining consistent with small acts of service, I believe that this could create a compounding effect of help that can truly elevate our fellow community members.
The relationships that I have made with the guests provide me the reason to keep coming back. They inspire my future involvement by allowing me to see first hand at just how powerful and helpful this organization is. I see mothers caring for their children, children being fed, those undergoing addiction becoming alleviated of their afflictions, and so many more positive effects of this organization. Seeing progress inspires me to come back as it makes me feel as though we are actually accomplishing something.
I do plan to continue volunteering at this organization. The reason for this is I love seeing progress being made on a daily basis with the folks we are serving. Individuals area finding the independence again thanks to the meals and sense of community that is provided each and every day. Personally, I want to be apart of that change and bettering of these folks lives. I have yet to see any other charity that I have worked with accomplish nearly as much and so soon in their four year history.
I would change how wrapped up I got in my tasks this go round and not focusing on the guests as much as I would have liked to. I got stuck on dish duty for the most part while also having to keep an eye on the boiling pasta water. While I do understand the need to monitor boiling water and an industrial dish washer very carefully, it took away time I could have spent interacting with the guests and other volunteers. Next time I might ask for a more social job, but I will serve where I am needed.
We served spaghetti and meatballs, salad, and garlic bread! Chloe and I helped wash dishes, clean up the kitchen, and prep silverware.
We served spaghetti and meatballs, salad, and garlic bread!
I truly enjoyed my time volunteering with Serving With a Smile! Through this experience, I developed valuable multitasking and teamwork skills. One of my favorite parts was serving meals to families while engaging with the children—asking about their day and getting to know them better. This experience opened my eyes to the strength and resilience within my community. Even though I don’t know what each family may be going through personally, they continue to show up, and that alone inspires me to lead with kindness and compassion. I formed meaningful connections, especially with the kids and the staff. Every time I return, I’m greeted with warm hugs from the children and friendly welcomes from the team, t’s truly heartwarming. My service aligns with the mission and goals of our organization and my personal values, which focuses on making a positive impact in others’ lives and encouraging leadership qualities that can be carried into everyday life.
This experience helped strengthen my problems solving abilities as this was my first time back to the clinic in a couple months. While not too much had changed the did replace the dinner time chef and because of that some of the kitchen protocol had been altered. For the most part, I solely volunteer within the kitchen, so having that routine altered was a bit of a shock, so I had to rely on my fellow volunteers to inform me about where the new utensils were, what time we would be serving food, and a plethora of other subjects. Through this endeavor, I became a much more flexible cook and server, while also learning when I need to take a backseat in my leadership roles.
This was a rather humbling experience as I saw some familiar faces that were still in the rehabilitation clinic and family ward. While the objective is to get these people back on their feet, properly clothed, fed, and moved into more permanent housing, it put into perspective just how arduous of a journey that can be. That is not to say it should be viewed as entirely depressing, but rather it shows the resolve of the volunteers and those who are in recovery.
I worked as part of a team who combined to cook and serve the meals. This was very helpful as up top I made the statement that kitchen protocol had changed. Thanks to the patience and mentorship of my fellow volunteers they aided me in my transition to the new protocols, while also ensuring I was not left walking around dazed.
The organization supported and guided me by providing me the opportunity to work with some exceptional volunteers. Thanks to their impact I now know the new protocol and can help operate the kitchen by myself if need be. They also provided the food, facilities, utensils, and washing equipment, that would become necessary to accomplish our objective.
I would tend to believe that my service did align with my personal values and beliefs of helping those that are less fortunate than myself. The men and women who live at this clinic are exceptional folk who have merely fallen upon hard times. I believe that their is good faith when you aid those who are in need of a little bit of help, and that is what I believe I helped accomplish with my fellow volunteers.