Cayla and her little brother Caleb are just like any other pair of siblings. Caleb runs around every waking moment, burning off his endless amount of energy while Cayla tends to sit on the sidelines, braiding her friends’ hair and rolling her eyes every time her brother makes monkey noises. Cayla enjoys clothes, reading, and telling jokes, while Caleb prefers to smash toy sharks into each other and play tag. They fight all the time, but they also make each other laugh, their identical green eyes lighting up whenever they smile. There’s just one thing that sets them apart from other kids: they’re homeless. Cayla and her brother Caleb are residents of St. Vincent De Paul (SVDP), which, along with many other programs to help the homeless, has apartments for mothers and their children. My youth group volunteers at their Children’s summer camp every year, which is how I came to know Cayla, Caleb, and many other children who deal with the struggles of homelessness every day.

When I first joined Youth Group freshmen year, I’d had only minimal experiences with service, and it’d always been something required of me. I still enjoyed it, but when you’re forced to volunteer because you need the hours for confirmation, you tend to forget that you’re helping real people, all with unique stories to tell. So when I tagged along with the group on a camp day at SVDP, I wasn’t expecting it to change me so much.

The first kid I talked to was a six year old named Robert. I was still a shy little freshman back in those days, and while I’d always loved kids, I was nervous about messing up, so I stayed on the edge for a while. That is, until Robert, a red haired, freckly little boy walked straight up to me and asked me if I could read. I’d barely even uttered the word “yes” before he grabbed my wrist and brought me over to the reading table. “I need help reading this animal book,” he told me seriously. “See the snake on the front? I wanna read about that snake, but I don’t know what some of the words mean. Will you help me?”

I could feel a smile spreading on my face as I said yes, of course I would help him. We finished the animal book and plenty of others that day, and when I left, I couldn’t stop telling my parents how smart this little boy was. Robert was the first of many kids to leave me with a different idea of service than I’d ever had before.
Since my first time at St. Vincent De Paul, I’ve come to know these kids very well. I’ve learned about their backgrounds, their hopes, their interests, and their stories. Creating lasting relationships with them has taught me to see the world through other’s eyes. Many of these residents are just like everyone else; they’ve simply caught a bad break in life, and are getting back on their feet.

Getting to know these kids and their parents has opened my eyes to the joys of service, and has given me a chance to change someone’s life for the better. I know that if I were in the same situation as the residents at SVDP, I would want someone to talk to and laugh with as well. For most of these kids, all they need is someone to listen to them, to believe in them. In today’s world, it’s hard to break out of the poverty cycle. And I believe that by encouraging these kids to be the best that they can be, and giving them opportunities they never would have had otherwise, we’re chipping away at poverty, one day at a time.

By volunteering there, I’ve learned that service is something I’m good at and passionate about, and it’s taught me why service is so important. It’s not about looking good on college applications, or getting it over with because it’s required for some club. It’s about creating special relationships with people you may not have otherwise known anything about. It’s about being inspired by the stories you come to know. And for me personally, it’s about making kids like Cayla, Caleb, and Robert smile just a little more than they would have otherwise.