On November 17th of 2013, a powerful tornado ripped through the town of Washington, Illinois and destroyed hundreds of homes and even killed three people.
A few days in, I visited with my friend and her dad and volunteered to be part of the cleanup crew. When we got there it was absolutely destroyed. We could actually see the path that the tornado went through, leaving one side of a neighborhood in ruins while the other was perfectly untouched.
We were sent into the worst part, and we ended up helping a family find old photos and jewelry they lost during the storm. There were children's toys scattered everywhere, pieces of different houses thrown across the neighborhood... We also had to wear masks to protect our lungs from fiberglass.
At the age of 16, I saw a lot of disasters in movies and on the news... but it didn't prepare me for what I would witness that day. I felt emotional for the families who lost nearly everything in a split second. When you haven't experienced a tragedy like that, you never think it could happen to you. You feel something for the people on the news, but you get over it the next day like nothing happened because you don't think there's anything you can do to help.
It was hard to come out of that and not wonder if it will happen to me at some point, and if it did, I would want all the help I could get. I think just by us being there for the community, it lifted the spirits that were as broken as the homes surrounding them. Afterward, I felt really good for helping. Even if I could help 1 person out of 100, I would come out of it a better person, and I did.
While that was definitely my biggest experience volunteering, I've done multiple things over the years. I helped put kids fingerprints into the system in case they were ever separated or kidnapped from their family. It would make it that much easier for the children to be identified if something like that did unfortunately happen.
I also became a R.O.C.K at my high school, which meant that I helped the Freshman transition into high school. It can be scary moving into such a huge school, but it helps when you have older students to help you feel comfortable. I enjoyed talking to the students and helping them with their homework. It was a wonderful experience.
A few other things I've helped with include food banks adopt a street program, food drive, raider's family farm, and a few other small events I can't remember the name of.
Each and every one made me a better person. They made me see how truly easy my life is when people are going through incredibly hard times. I learned how to do something good and not expect anything in return, and most of all I learned to enjoy my time helping people.
I hope this inspires you to do the same. Only good can come out of helping someone in need.
