Giving back to Our Communities

Altruism is a principle or a virtue that highlights selflessness, emphasizing the act of helping others without reference to a personal reward. The concept of altruism encourages devoting time to aiding others. Altruism may motivate individuals to get involved in society and actively promote the welfare of others. These actions in return set off a chain reaction of goodness. Being a part of something greater than myself, something that has the potential to inspire goodness or positivity in others is intensely motivational for me. I enjoy coming up with ways to stimulate altruistic behaviors, focusing on shifting my perspective as well as investing time and funds to acknowledge and advocate for those individuals that are in need of any sort of assistance. As a psychology major and biology minor with a pre-medicinal concentration, I love to explore the mind and the neurobiological mechanisms of behavior and illnesses. Having a positive mindset and giving back while relying on strengths and passions have been consistently linked to growth and maturity in societies. Habitual behaviors based on positive goals have the possibility of positively impacting many lives. Education has the power to strengthen our foundations and behaviors, through observations, application, and reinforcement. Altruism may be fostered through education to propel productivity and cultivate empathy. Service projects encompass a multitude of events and activities and are a direct application of altruism.

Creativity and passion have consistently fueled service projects that I have facilitated. Through a chapter of a non-profit organization I was able to launch, I developed a platform to focus on inspiring people from my community to get involved in various service projects to uplift others and have aimed to provide peers with ways to be there for people who need it the most while utilizing creative modes. To account for those with busy schedules, I gathered methods of contributing that vary in time, ranging from as short as five minutes to as long as a couple of hours. Card crafting and care package assembly are two types of service projects I have been involved in, both requiring a deal of dedication. Using ordinary, yet extremely necessary and beneficial tools such as scissors, glue, tape, recycled plastics, and paper, I, along with my peers, have crafted hundreds of cards for people in homeless shelters, hospitals, and nursing homes, and have assembled care packages for various food banks and shelters. Scissors, as well as other office supplies, are tools that are often taken for granted, due to their widespread availability in several nations. In a service project, scissors may be used to open packages, cut materials to assemble packages, cut a desired size or shape of paper for a card or letter, model shapes, create three-dimensional pop-ups or two-dimensional objects to paste onto cards, and so much more. It all starts with one snip. One snip has the potential to transform a standard piece of paper into a work of art or a beautiful card that may be used to brighten a day. Employing our resources to create something new and valuable is very important to me.

Interestingly enough, many of the resources used to produce the cards and packages cycle. Meaning, the beautiful pop-ups developed often inspire others to pick up scissors and construct their own pop-ups, draft designs, or practice origami. Sometimes it is an even more direct effect, in which individuals are specifically given resources, such as pencils, paints, as well as other utensils and supplies, to generate desired products. An aspect of these service projects revolves around taking resources that already exist and making them available for people who did not have access to them before, which is crucial. There are times when card crafting and package assembly are much more difficult, as the organization is primarily funded by myself and other peers. To create products to distribute, there has to be sufficient funds and resources. With the money from this scholarship, I would love to use a portion to connect my peers to greater opportunities and invest in more tools and resources to expand the causes and projects of the non-profit organization. Let’s develop the intention to help those that are in need and make an active effort in giving back to our communities!