Cry for Help: Taste Of Chelsea

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/

Big Dreams

As I stood on the rock and spread my arms out, I felt that I was

on top of the world. The ocean whispered in my ear that I had the power

to change the world. 

     Growing up, I was always guarded from the problems of the world. My mother wanted us to grow up happy. There was always a plate of food on our table and a shelter over our heads. As I started to become a young adult, I began to realize that the world my mother had created for us wasn’t the world everyone around me lived in.  There were people who weren’t as fortunate as me.  There were many people who did not have food on their plate everyday or a roof over their heads. The mask that prevented me from seeing the reality that surrounded me was lifted. I was always too afraid to attempt to create change. I was a small girl and I thought that there was nothing I could do that would make a difference. How could I change the world?

It was in middle school however that I discovered that I could make a difference. I discovered volunteer work. It became my passion to create change no matter how little. From a young age my mother told me that any dream could be accomplished with hard work and dedication so, I began to fight hard for my dream. I had a very naïve dream, changing the world for good. A dream that to this day I am still working on. Many people say that I am a big dreamer and they are right.  If you are going to dream you might as well dream big.  At first, I wanted to write this blog about just my work at the Soup Kitchen and Pantry but the more I thought about what I wanted to say, the more I realized that I had more to share with you than my volunteer service at this place. I have volunteered in many places and from every place I have learned many important life lessons. I have embarked in a journey. Volunteering for me has become a way of learning more about the world, people, and myself. My passion for volunteer work even has lead me to become a Passion for Action Scholar. Being a volunteer, I learned takes commitment, passion, dedication, hard work and strength. So I invite you to embark on my journey.  Please join me in changing the world for good. “Juntos tenemos el poder de inspirar cambio (together we have the power to inspire change).”

To learn more about the Passion For Action Scholarship Visit: http://www.wheelock.edu/admissions/financial-aid-undergraduate/scholarships-and-grants/passion-for-action-scholarship-program/psa-scholars

Open Up Your Eyes

St.Luke San Lucas Youth Group volunteers dancing Hallelujah.

How many of us take the time to sit down and enjoy the world around us? The sun shines and the birds sing as the wind blows gently on our faces but we do not see it. How many of us take the time to see the problems that surround us? We all live busy lives and many times ignore the beauty of Earth and the problems that do not seem to harm us. My name is Jacqueline Orellana but everyone calls me Jacky. I am a sophomore at Wheelock College studying communications and performing arts.  I am guilty of many times ignoring the world around me. I am caught up in my own world and many times I fail to see the reality. I once walked around trying to avoid any problems that weren’t mine. Why? You may ask yourselves? The answer is fear. I feared that the problems that were the worlds would cause me to lose my way. The funny thing about me fearing losing my way was that I still had no clue where I was headed. I’m sure that many of us have experienced that feeling of not knowing what path to take. It wasn’t until 2 years ago that I discovered that I wanted to be someone that inspired change.

The world needs people who are willing to fight for it. People that aren’t afraid of failing. Failure doesn’t mean that’s it is over. So, I began taking the time to see the world around me. I could see the stars shining brightly and hear the birds singing in what seemed like perfect harmony but I also saw a part of the world that brought me to tears and sadness.
     As I walked down the streets, I started to notice the poverty that many people here in America are living in.In my community of Chelsea, people living below the poverty line numbered 1,582. That is 20.6% of Chelsea’s population. It is when I opened my eyes that I found St. Luke’s San Lucas Soup Kitchen and Pantry. I started to volunteer at this community kitchen and fell in love with the people. The people that volunteer there do it with lots of love. The people that come to the soup kitchen and pantry are all very grateful. For them the Soup Kitchen and Pantry is one of their only means of food and sometimes happiness. The Soup Kitchen and Pantry opened up my eyes to volunteer service. It empowered me. I realized that I had the power to change the world for good.