Civic Engagement and Community Service
This past Wednesday my group got the opportunity to volunteer our time to build a house for an underprivileged family. During this time I took into consideration the privileged we are given to have a shelter over our heads, a place we can call home. Many citizens around the country are not so fortunate, and have to live in the streets where they are seen as the “homeless”. While interning in D.C I have noticed the lack of attention, and numerous amount of individuals living on the streets. Washington D.C is the Capitol of the United States, the strongest and greatest country in the world, this should not be happening. Having the opportunity to work together with my CHCI family on such a promising project was unbelievable. Even though we were divided into a morning shift, and afternoon shift I could feel the progress we all made in building the house for a struggling family that will benefit from it. After volunteering I realized the importance of coming together with a positive leading group and projecting all of our dedication to a project. In this case it was the house we helped Habitat for Humanity build. I feel that I can talk for the group and say that we all benefited from this project tremendously, by learning how to be a leading group that works together. We young Latinos have made our way to the world’s leading nations Capitol to work hard, and provide a strong professional appearance on behalf the Latin community. I have learned a valuable lesson, the importance of community service, and never forgetting to give back. Even though I am still a young adult, after this amazing experience I feel the strength in going back to my community to make a positive impact on my fellow Latinos. I have always known the strength we Latinos have, but know we lack one important factor, having mentors. I will give my promise to CHCI, and my new CHCI intern Familia that I will provide my experience while in D.C to young Latinos. I will go back to my community to be the bridge that will connect many young low incomes, struggling, and smart Latinos to a brighter attainable future. Being a Latino is an honor, but being a progressive Latino Leader that helps build our community is a job in the making.
