For my time in the pantry I got to talk to a lot of the volunteers while I was working, I did a lot of stocking and organizing as food donations had come in so me and some other volunteers went through all of the cans and disassembled the boxes cleaning up along the way.
I had the shelter closing shift and cleaned out the outside dog cages, as a closer though I had the pleasure of giving all the dogs toys of their own choosing. It was funny how when I walked in they were all barking and going crazy and after I was finished they went silent as they were playing with their toys.
I went over to the location and, while due to it being winter could not water trees, still worked by cleaning up a lot of the side shoveling mud and debris and picking up all of the garbage I could find. I finished off my time there by cleaning the shed and sweeping its floor. Pretty fun and dirty, glad I went.
It was pretty fun work, I got to hang out and walk some cute puppies named Kansas and Dorothy. Laundry was the last thing that I did before leaving. It felt good to give some shelter dogs some love, as I do not have a dog, so it felt fulfilling.
The biggest thing that I got from this event was from talking to the other volunteers, William headed the counseling center stand and told me about the isolation he felt from lockdown and how even with interacting with people for his job they still felt far away. The walk was fun and i used it as a time to reflect on the people in my life who have passed. Great event.
Compared to the year prior when I volunteered, this was a little more difficult, as I had to corral 1st graders instead of 4th graders and there is a big difference. However, it did help me regain a little hope for the next generation of kids that are growing up in this country. While they were in our program because their learning was a little stunted. All four of my students really did have a drive to learn which was very sweet and fulfilling, I'm glad I volunteered and hopefully I'll join the same program next school year! Also, because I waited so long to log these hours it forced me to select the spring program, I participated in the fall program.
The people that showed up along with me were nice and along with the music I was listening to I had a good night while picking up garbage.
