My Time as a Volunteer by Abbigail

My Time as a Volunteer by Abbigail - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

I am a three sport varsity letter winner. I have always wanted to volunteer, but being busy all the time with sports makes it extremely difficult to do so. When I found out that I could volunteer every Wednesday at our local Lima Public Library, I was ecstatic. I had always loved the library as a child. My favorite memory as a little child would have to be going there with my dad and picking out a painting to hang up in my room for two weeks. Then, after two weeks we would return it and pick out another one. So I have always had a special connection to the library.
I called the library and explained to them that I would try my best to come in to work as much as I could, but with my schedule it would be difficult. They were so grateful, because at the time I was the only person that offered to volunteer. They had been asking for volunteers to put all of the old obituaries that they had on file, online. With someone my age, I did not think it would of been difficult. They told me I could come in at any time on any day, and would only have to work for one hour each time I came. There were several hundred obituaries that were to be typed out. It seemed like an impossible task at the time, especially since I was the only volunteer they had.
I made it a routine to make the trip to the Lima Public Library every Wednesday, after cheer-leading practice. I would use my time wisely, and try to get roughly twenty to thirty obituaries typed. The most difficult part in my opinion would have to be attempting to read some of the writing on the cards. Since some of these cards were very old, and handwritten so long ago, the cards were often faded and at times ripped. Majority of the cards were written in around 1890's or the beginning of the 1900's. It was so neat to see all the people that used to live in Lima, and seeing some of the strange names or familiar names that were from so long ago. At the end of the winter, I had achieved logging almost all of the obituaries by myself. I was so proud of myself and the workers at the library expressed their gratitude towards me and continually told me how impressed they were that I did so many of the obituaries in so little of time with literally no help.
Volunteering at the Lima Public Library inspired me to continue my time as much as possible in my community, especially since I will be moving away to college so soon. Since volunteering, I have continued to volunteer at many other facilities including my local Salvation Army, St. Vincent De Paul in downtown Lima, and several Christmas Parties for disabled children at the Allen East schools. I think that volunteering is a great way for young students like myself to help their communities in ways that may not seem like much, but are more help that one could ever imagine.