Mountains of muddled donations surrounded me. Trash and waste that no one in need could put to good use had to be thrown out. A thrift store full of rubbish and a church filled with families’ rejects, the heart of a child viewed as insignificant. Memories made while serving others opened my eyes to a new world just a short distance away.

I traveled with 67 other students Nov. 16 to a rarely traveled area of downtown Amarillo to participate in the annual sophomore class service project.

My group’s first stop was Citychurch. I had always heard about their ministry, but I had never been there. When we first arrived, we heard a short presentation and I realized how needed our help really was. We learned about how their preschool program reaches out to kids who have been living in a life full of drugs, alcohol, and prostitution.

My job was to help prepare the meal for the Wednesday night service that night. We cut and battered enough chicken fingers to feed an army. Just that task alone took six of us about an hour and a half. Imagine if we hadn’t been there to help them and there were just the two or three daily workers to do all of that work.

After we helped the cooks, we went to the preschool and helped cut out lamination for their curriculum. A simple task like cutting out shapes to help the children learn to count seemed like unimportant job, but the teachers were so grateful for our help.

Next was lunch time. The kids were so much fun to eat with. They had just met me and had no problem conversing with me. They were so adorable. When I thought about the kind of lifestyle they had to deal with at home, it broke my heart. They were so disappointed when they had to go back to class and leave us, some even cried.

I plan to go back to Citychurch to volunteer more. I’m sure that some people go and meet these kids and feel like they made a difference in their lives, but then they never return. I plan to be someone stable in those kids’ lives.

After lunch we left Citychurch and toured the Salvation Army shelter. They are an organization that believes in self sufficiency and help people get back on their own two feet. Housing costs $1.02 and food costs $1.89 per person assisted.

One thing that really impacted me about the Salvation Army is that their yearly budget is 3.2 million dollars, and they have to raise a quarter of that budget through donations dropped into the red kettles that stand outside of department stores every Christmas.

“It’s illegal to walk by a red kettle without putting a donation inside,” our tour guide Kathy Dodson said with a smile.

After we toured the Salvation Army, we went to help at the Salvation Army thrift store. When people in need go to the Salvation Army, they are given a voucher for whatever goods they may need. Then, they take that voucher and get their necessities at the thrift store.

I helped organize hangers. I was unaware of what a monumental task that would be. I had never seen so many hangers in my entire life. I think all of us were surprised at how much help they needed there.

It takes $15,000 a year for the Salvation Army to throw out unusable donations. I learned that it has a huge impact to be a conscientious donor. Homeless people don’t want my trash either.

I am really grateful that I was able to go on this service project. It opened my eyes to see a whole new side to Amarillo that I didn’t even know existed. I have learned that it doesn’t take much effort to positively impact someone’s life.