Making the World a Better Place--One Step At a Time by Josaphine
Josaphineof Apple Valley's entry into Varsity Tutor's January 2017 scholarship contest
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Making the World a Better Place--One Step At a Time by Josaphine - January 2017 Scholarship Essay
In the first grade I joined Girl Scouts. It was a place of comfort and a place where I could always express myself. Since the beginning, I knew I wanted to be one of those girls who earned their Gold Award. As a Girl Scout, and having older girls in my troop, I always looked up to them. Whenever they did an event, earned a patch, or completed a project, I was eager to follow right away in their footsteps.
Throughout Girl Scouts, I participated in numerous volunteer activities and events. It warmed my heart seeing how the elderly people at the homes enjoyed when I went to paint flower pots with them, and that the homeless really appreciated the food boxes I helped put together for them. Even though I only thought it was a simple deed, I was actually making my community a better place, and that made me feel like I was doing good and giving back. But I didn’t just want to stop there--I wanted to help more, do something great for my community that would be memorable, and be proud of something I did to make a difference. My junior year of high school I decided to put a project into action by doing my Gold Award.
I held a "Intro to Sports Camp" at my school. I combined my interests of sports and my love of helping younger children, and came up with the idea to hold a sports camp for the kids at my school and in my community. I had many friends help me by volunteering to teach the younger children to use/gain skills in sports, this would help them in the future when/if they wanted to join sports in their later life. I used the proceeds to purchase, and donate playground equipment for my school. My school transitioned to a kindergarten through twelfth grade campus recently. Since the intermediate students' playground moved to the kindergarteners area, they needed playground equipment for themselves. I figured it would be a great idea to help the kids learn new things, while raising money for them. It was wonderful to make them happy, and involve my community. Through all of this, I learned to have more patience, and that planning and putting on an event by yourself is very stressful, yet rewarding. I helped my community and school by putting on my "Intro to Sports Camp." I was extremely happy to know I was bettering my community, not only by donating the playground equipment I see the little kids play on everyday, but because I touched little kids’ hearts by teaching them new skills they can use in the future.