mehul desai

I was able to go to the yellow bike project and volunteer for a day. The yellow bike project is an initiative to get more bicycles on the streets of Austin. It tries to teach people the mechanics of a bike and also proper maintenance. Its open and free to anyone who wants to learn. And its absolutely free. If you volunteer for a total of 24 hours, they allow you to build your own bike for free! Meaning you cane customize your bike just the way you like. During my time I spent part of my day washing pieces to keep proper maintenance. After that we worked on how to dissemble bikes. The we worked on putting them back together. This alone took a few hours as the point of it was to teach you how to do it quickly. I never quite got to that point but I did make progress. The end of the day was spent surveying old bike parts to see if they are still safe to use. We went through countless seats, wheels, chains, and handle bars. What they would do with these parts is assemble them to make new bikes with old parts. They have all kinds whether you want a mountain bike, a dirt bike, or a general bike. I enjoyed my time and am strongly considering returning to get to 24 hours so I can have my own bike.

I had the opportunity of volunteering at Hope Presbyterian Church a few weeks back. I am not of christian faith myself but I have found myself interested in learning other religions. That was how I have been in contact with the church but on this day I did not go for service. There's a children's center which can be seen as a Sunday school for kids that goes on parallel to the actual service that happens in the other hall for the adults. This day though the kids were not in Sunday school. It was a special day for the children as they were celebrating the anniversary of the start of the first childrens mass at the church from years ago. They were after service their was a full day of activities lined up. They had apple dunks, a small basketball hoop to shoot in. They even had a small area made for bowling. I had the honor of volunteering and working with the arts and crafts part of the fun. I tried to make it a little special for the kids and tried to get them to create an image of what they thought Jesus meant to them. I got a wide array or pictures and I actually learned from these young kids. They were able to teach and show me things people twice their age couldn't get me to understand. From pictures of family to love and even of the sun and of the moon. I was glad to have volunteered for the event and help these kids. Even though I had interest in other religions, Christianity was one that I seemed to have hit a brick wall with. Well until that day, it just goes to show you never know what can be learned from any given moment.

I volunteered at a bunny shelter in Austin. I am greatly afraid of animals so this was very tough for me to go to the shelter and help. The shelter itself doesn't get many volunteers, in fact on a normal day the workers don't get done with their duties till about 7-8pm at night. Then they start their day again starting at 8pm the next day. Because we came to help on that Sunday morning we were able to finish all the work before 1pm. They were so excited they had no idea what to do with all the extra time we gave them that day. It was worth it because for that one day those workers were able to go home early knowing all the work was done.

I had the opportunity to go to Allen Park in Austin which is apart of Travis County. Our job was simple, to help get rid of a tree called the Ligustrum Tree which is an invasive species. This tree is not harmful to people but it is harmful to the environment and the life around it. Because it is a rapid growing tree which can outgrow anything else around it. By doing this it can kill off all other life so that it would be the only thing growing. The work was hard, it was a hot day. We got handed rakes and other tools which we used to scatter the remangings of the tree. Because the park gets support from travis country, they actually shred the trees but they don't take them with them. Their are piles and piles of shredded trees and they need to be moved and scattered because if they stay where they are no life can grow under the deep rumble. Also in the summer because it gets so hot in Austin, their is a real threat of fires being formed which can put life in danger. I initially did not want to be there but each time I thought about not doing it I would see a team member pushing through and working hard. It also made me proud to know I was helping the park stay beautiful and the people in the community will still be able to come and enjoy nature. I learned sometimes helping the environment goes a long way, the park is in the middle of a residential area which means many people live within walking distance. They won't ever know I helped but each time a person goes I will know I had a part in keeping the park healthy.

I had an idea last semester with some old clothes of mine. I was going to take the ones I didn't wear anymore to a store to get a few extra bucks. I did that with a lot of my old clothes, however; most of my clothes weren't accepted. That is when the idea occurred to me that, I have an opportunity to give away my clothes. Not to a charity though, but the people right next to where I go to school. Up and down the "drag" people walk all day long, next to countless number of homeless people. Some do what they can to help but most, along with me rarely even make an effort to look at them. I spent two early evenings talking to a few and giving them some more warm clothes, as it was winter now and the temperatures were slowly dropping. It was tough at first, approaching individuals who I did not know, was it safe, could I get hurt? Were the questions spinning in my head. I was grateful enough to find two friends who still were on campus after their finals. And honestly, without their help I really don't think I would have gone through with it. Come to find out, I actually ran into another one of my friends who I presumed homeless. He was actually doing a study of some sort, where he was posing homeless for two days to try and understand what it means to be homeless. To sum up my experience though, I loved it. But the one thing that always brings me down about things like this is the fact that I can't help everyone. I had a few individuals come ask me why they didn't get a jacket or shirt, and I really could't keep a straight face during those encounters. I ran out of clothes, theirs nothing I can do for everyone. But no matter what you do, I guess theirs always a start somewhere and this in a sort was mine.

This was the second year in a row where I was able to volunteer at the trail of lights in Austin. What's crazy is that this was the first time I actually walked the entire trail. My experience I would tie down with one word, refreshing. Seeing so many happy families and faces, the start of the trail of lights symbolizes a semester coming to a close. Usually days away from being able to go home and see my own family. Last years experience was more about the trail itself, while this years was more of a reflection of myself. Sometimes you dont realize how great it is to help others until you see them smile. With so many negative things going around the world, the trail is one thing at least for that one night I was there where you can just relax and enjoy a beautiful event with an entire community.