Health & Human Services Week 2026

I volunteered at the Good Shepard Center washing the vans that are used to deliver food to people in need. I volunteered with 4 other UNCW students, and we worked well as a team to make sure all parts of the van inside and out looked like new. Having a shared goal makes great teamwork because everyone wants to make sure they don't let the rest of the team down. This experience connects with my goals because I volunteered for years in high school do a similar thing in terms of organizing food for those in need, so it was nice to have that goal again and strive towards getting people who are in need of food the necessities to survive comfortably. The mission of the company is to make sure food doesn't go to waste and instead goes to people who really need it, and it made me feel super happy to be able to help accomplish this goal by making sure that the vans are in the best condition possible when delivering these foods. I think this teaches teamwork and communication which are definitely transferable skills for my future job.

Volunteering at the Good Shepherd Center washing vans that deliver food to people in need gave me a new perspective on how important all the work is that isn't directly seen. Even though I wasn't someone that was directly handing out the food, I still was playing a significant role in helping these people receive it. Knowing that these vans that I was cleaning would be used to serve people in need made the work feel much more meaningful and made me feel good that I was doing it. It showed me that every amount of contribution matters, and that helping others doesn't always require being something that is visibly seen to make a true impact.