"Anything Else?"



I don't know how to rotate it...





Today for the final two hours of community service, I met up with Britney and Kate at the Don Edwards Wild Life Refuge. The refuge was holding a poster contest for elementary school kids. They had drawn pictures of endangered species and were also required to answer questions about their animal. Unfortunately, I missed most of this because I had a soccer game and ended up arriving late to the event. But, I was still able to help out when I eventually showed up. I joined Britney and Kate at the arts and crafts table and helped some kids make harvest mice and clapper rails (a bird) out of paper. I was surprised that the mouse was actually fun to make and that it looked nice; usually arts and crafts can be really lame, but this was not the case. I thought it was a good idea because not only were the younger kids able to do something, but they could take something home that reminded them of the endangered animals in the Bay Area. I find that the best way to remember things are either writing something down or having an object that triggers a certain memory. Having their paper mouse or bird at home can allow these kids to keep in mind that there are animals in our community that need help being preserved. Not only can they remember this, but also they can remember that they have the power to make a difference.

Besides helping a little bit with crafts, I mainly did my part by helping clean up. It was the least I could do for not being there for the first hour and a half of the event. So, I helped clean off all the tables and then carried them down the stairs to put them away. After that I did whatever was needed and went around asking if I could do anything else. I felt bad because I did not do that much, while many people were there most of the day helping out. But as we were closing up the building, a park ranger said, “It sure is nice to have all this help.” This brought me to the realization that a lot of the times it is the little things that matter. While I was thought that moving only five tables was not doing much, the rangers were very grateful for it. I remember when Kate was helping a little boy make a paper mouse and how the mom thanked her after because while it may not seem like anything special, Kate was giving up her time to do this and it did not go unnoticed. Sometimes just showing up to things can be all the difference. This is because in doing so you are devoting your time to others, and that is what’s important.