Social responsibility is a very important aspect of community, and should, therefore, be practiced more regularly in society. As a way of reinforcing this idea, part of our Critical Thinking unit involved engaging in community service by volunteering at a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) of choice, such as a school, animal shelter or orphanage, for a minimum of 4 hours. To complement this experience, each student had to either assemble a back to school care pack for a primary or high school student, or a dog or cat in an animal shelter. Upon hearing about this assignment, I was slightly nervous as this was going to be my first volunteering experience.  Moreover, although I did not mind completing the required activities, I was worried that I would not have the finances to buy the items required for the care pack or commute between the school campus and the charity I was going to choose. Fortunately, I figured out innovative ways around my worries and discovered that not everything that I needed to do required money. In the end, I decided to assemble a care pack for a high school girl because I felt that I would relate to her the most considering the fact that I recently graduated from high school, hence making the experience more personal than mandatory. I also found a home for a mental patient that was only a walking distance away from my school. 

I found out about the Gateway Village through a friend. She told me a little bit about the home, and that it mostly accommodates elderly residents. However, what she neglected was the fact that there are mentally challenged individuals as well, which I only found out on arrival. When this came to my attention, I was honestly afraid of how this experience would turn out because I have never dealt with individuals who suffer from mental disabilities. A part of me was curious to find out how they go about their daily lives because I had been remotely interested in psychiatry for a long time. The first time I came across the residents was during our orientation session. Initially, a few of my peers and I had a meeting with our supervisor, Moira Short, who gave us several guidelines on how to conduct ourselves around the residents. She advised us against using words such as ‘patients’, ‘mentally challenged’, ‘ill’, and so many more because this implies that the residents are not like everyone else or that something is seriously wrong with them. Although that may be the case, the goal is to make them feel appreciated and capable of achieving greatness despite the difficulties they may face that are out of their control. In addition, we were told some of the stories behind the residents’ conditions, such as road accidents that lead to severe mental injuries like concussions, which affect the individual’s ability to independently conduct daily activities, some of which including bathing, walking and speech. Overall, this part of the orientation session was to give us an understanding of the general environment of the home, the home’s mission and why our help was desperately needed.

 
We then proceeded onto the tour session, where we were shown around the main parts of the home that we were to expect to work in, such as the Charity shop, the kitchen and bakery, and the Arts and Crafts workshop. Because this session was quite exhaustive, it was granted to us as a ‘free’ hour, as it were; therefore it also contributed to our voluntary hours. The following week, I went back to the Village for the actual work. Upon arrival, my colleagues and I were taken to a beautiful building that was said to have been built for the purpose of accommodating the eldest residents as a nursery. It consisted of multiple bedrooms that were grouped into a dormitory-like formation, a large kitchen, a lounging area and bathrooms. However, because the home does not have the resources to move some residents into that building and have people to take care of them, it has never been put to use, so they decided to stack all their documentation from as early as 1950 into the two largest rooms. They call it the ‘Archive’. Once we got there, we were told to organise this documentation so that it would be easy for them to retain any information if need arose. Most of the papers were put into boxes according to their years, but a lot of them were randomly scattered across the floor. Our job was to firstly pick up approximately one hundred labelled boxes and pile them in a different room according to the year. In order to do this quickly and effectively, we formed what we called a conveyer belt, which was basically a really long chain of people passing the boxes from one room to the next. I was at the end of this chain, ensuring that all boxes were correctly placed in groups of five year ranges. Once we were done, we packed all the scattered paper into new boxes and stacked them against a wall. Once we had finished, Moira offered us mango juice as refreshment before we could pick where to go next, since our four-hour slot was not yet over. Thereafter, we had the option of going to the charity shop or the arts and crafts workshop, of which I chose the latter because that is where most of the residents were at the time. This was the perfect opportunity to interact with them. Once we got there, we were introduced to everyone and help them start their new painting project which involved drawing and painting on old sheets, which would be turned into table mats and sold in order to generate income for the home. In between all the artwork, I was able to speak to some of the residents and listen to their hopes and dreams, and describe their lives at the Village as best as they could. Some spoke of still hoping to start businesses of their own, another spoke of his wish to establish a home for victims of disabilities such as his own. I then met a young lady called Natasha who spoke about how she just wanted a chance to play netball at Monash for fun, which really made me appreciate every gift I have, from my talents to the privileges I take for granted every day. 
Ultimately, on a personal level, this experience was an emotional one for me; it made me realise the power of helping and giving back to the community because some people really need the extra hand. The idea that there are more people out there suffering from the same disabilities as the residents of the Gateway Village but have no one to look after them saddens me. This assignment was a blessing in disguise because I have always been passionate about humanitarian work but I never taken the time to actually put it into practice in my own life. In fact, one of my resolutions for this year was to volunteer at least five times throughout the year, and this assignment helped me overcome the first step to achieving this goal, for which I am grateful. Above all, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience because I felt like I make a valuable contribution to society, and it was a breath of fresh to be around individuals who are so appreciative of every little thing they receive because I am usually around negative people, including myself, at times. Civically, this experience was significant because it put emphasis on the saying, “no man is an island”. Usually, we tend to interpret this quote subjectively in the sense that we feel like we need other people in everything we do. However, for the first time in my life, I looked at it differently and objectively, in the sense that others need us in everything they do, and so wherever and whenever we can, we must teach ourselves the spirit of giving and helping, so much so that it becomes of second nature. From an academic perspective, I think that this assignment was particularly complementary to what we had been learning in the Critical Thinking unit about university. Part of the reason why I am here, as I have discovered through this unit, is to learn life skills, think critically about society, become a global citizen and live the “examined” life; all of which were put to practice during this assessment. It gave me the chance to examine the life I live and assess it in terms of my contribution to society. 
As for the care pack, the process of assembling it was quite interesting. At first glance, the list looked intimidating, and I was planning on buying everything from a store; but after assembling it, I realised it may actually not be enough to send to an underprivileged high school girl. The first I did was to check if I had any of the specified items in excess that I had kept for myself, and fortunately, I did. So I took the pens, pencils and ruler from my own pencil case, and some of the toiletries from my own supplies. I decided to buy as little as possible and instead take some of the items from my own stock to make it more personal because my mother always told me that true giving is when you offer something that was dear to you, or that you were keeping for yourself. To further support this belief, I added some of my own clothing that I still fit but do not wear as often as the rest, such as a cardigan, skirts and t-shirts, that I think would help her supplement what I imagine to be a very limited wardrobe. After this, I then went to Pep to buy the rest of the requirements, and although I mainly stuck to the list we were given, I tried to add other things that I thought I would need if I were in her shoes, such as hand sanitizer and extra sanitary pads. The last part of this process was writing the letter. I did not want it to be a random piece of paper that I would just throw into the package, so I got a pink “Just for You” gift card and envelope to make it more personalised and deliberate, rather than compulsory. In the card, I included some of my favourite motivational quotes and reminders to tell her that she is beautiful and can, indeed, achieve greatness if she puts all her hard work into being success. The actual letter was handwritten on lined paper and included a short testimony from one high school experience of mine to motivate her. Within the letter, I also strongly encouraged her to continue working hard in school because her education is the only thing that no one can take away from her. Throughout this process, I wholly involved myself so much that I could almost imagine what she looks like and her reaction when she would finally receive her gift. To package all these contents, I found a colourful, strong bag that she could use in the future, because I wanted this care pack to be as useful as possible. 

Overall, this experience ended up having very little to do with assessment marks and became about what I could do to help someone in need. I enjoyed it and learnt a lot about community service and myself in the process. This is definitely something I am going to try to do more often. It was my favourite part of the whole unit, and I am beyond grateful for this exposure and experience.

 
Care pack contents – High school student (female)
•    Gift card and written letter
•    Packs of sanitary pads (2)
•    Deodorant spray (1)
•    Hand sanitizer (1)
•    Bath soap (1)
•    Packet of facial tissue (1)
•    Baby petroleum jelly (1)
•    Mini sewing kit (1)
•    Energy bars (2)
•    Calculator (1)
•    Juice bottle (1)
•    Eraser (1)
•    Set of coloured pencils (1)
•    Pencils (2)
•    Black pen (1)
•    Blue pen (1)
•    Exercise books (2)
•    Ruler (1)
•    Plain and coloured paper set (1)
•    Sharpener (1)
•    Pink top  (1)
•    Grey t-shirt (1)
•    Blue and black striped shirt (1)
•    Black cardigan (1)
•    Blue dress (1)
•    Blue skirt (1)
•    Black and khaki dress (1)
•    White printed t-shirts (2)