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| Ledia Koco,Sary Morales, and I posing with one of the restaurant owners who participated in the event. |
So where do we begin? I have a lot of stories to share with you but finding the right one to begin with is very hard. I want to take you back to my childhood and relate it to my volunteer experience with Taste of Chelsea. It will help you understand why this volunteer experience in particular was one of the most important for me. Taste of Chelsea is a big event held in the city of Chelsea every year where restaurants from the local community come together to raise money and awareness of domestic violence. It is sponsored by the Chelsea Chamber of Commerce and HarborCOV. I volunteered in this event for very personal reasons that I will share with you. So, lets travel back in time to when I was a child.
As a child, I witnessed domestic abuse. I lived in California in a little blue house with a rose garden that my mother had planted surrounded by a white gate. Next door to us lived a man and his wife. The woman was a very nice woman and she would always give my sisters, brother, and I lollipops. Every time she came out of the house she had a big smile on her face but great sadness in her eyes. I knew that there was something wrong with her. Every night, I could hear her cries of sadness and her pleading for help as her husband beat her. Every time I heard her crying or screaming, I would close my eyes and ears hoping that the pain would go away. I was young but I knew she was suffering and there was nothing I could do to help her.One day I sat outside and watched her as she sat on her porch.The sun shone on her beautiful pale skin and her beautiful black hair blew with the wind.Salty tears began to fall from my eyes and my body began to shake. I was sad for her and mad at her husband. How could he beat such a kind hearted woman? One day as I was coming back from school my neighbor was at her porch with her luggage. She was leaving and never coming back. I admired her strength and courage and was happy that she was leaving the abusive relationship. That day I watched her drive away and I never saw her again. She thought she was alone but I was there listening to her cry for help. As I grew up, I wanted to make sure that I kept this experience as a lesson of strength and determination. I wanted to make sure that her story would not be repeated. So, when I heard of Taste of Chelsea I rapidly offered to volunteer.
Taste of Chelsea was a volunteer service that I could relate to. I know that pain of seeing someone be abused in front of your eyes and the helplessness felt in not being able to do something about it. Taste of Chelsea was a volunteer experience in where I had the power to raise awareness of such a horrible problem that many families face. I had the power to help end the cycle of abuse and it was the most amazing feeling. I was no longer the silent voice. At this event, I learned the stories of women who were killed by their partner. They weren't as fortunate as my neighbor. That day I put on my orange shirt (which is a color that totally does not suit me) and ran around helping the restaurants set up. It was empowering to be able to help make a difference. Now, that I have told you my story I hope you are able to see why this experience as a volunteer in particular was so important to me. I hope that you are inspired to get up from your computer and go see what you can do to change the world for good. Everything counts when it comes to creating change.
For more information on Taste of Chelsea visit:
http://harborcov.org/tasteofchelsea/
