I feel like giving back to our community is very important. I’ve volunteered at several annual events, at Winona’s local stores, and for a non profit organization that I find myself connected to. One of my strengths are helping others, when I realized that this was my strength, I took it and ran with it. One thing I have learned was to give more than you take. Little by little, we make a difference in the world, and this is how I hope to make a difference.
Someone once told me that we need to look at things differently, like changing our paradigm. To be open minded and not be focusing on ourselves too much, to be thankful for the ones around us, most importantly, giving to those who once gave to us. One step I took to giving back to my community was helping out at the food shelf and the second hand stores in Winona. Once a year, there are events that I participate in and I volunteer and help with whatever I can. Toys for tots, for example, a small group of our school would volunteer and separate the toys from size and shape from new and old. The toys are then packed up and sent as Christmas gifts to children in our community. At our local second hand stores, I essentially do the same thing: sorting and putting the items where they belong.

One Non-Profit Organization that I found myself very interested in lately is the Ronald McDonald House (RMH). The RMH is a non-profit organization that is a “home away from home” for families with children seeking medical care at Mayo Clinic. Families otherwise, may travel hundreds sometimes even thousands of miles for their children to be hospitalized.