Today, our 9th class, was one unlike any class I’ve ever taken in any subject, grade or school ever in all of history. At 8:45 A.M. (ish) our entire class (sadly, minus Tahira, Vincent and Evan ((Evan would join us later in his own car))) loaded onto a school bus and we began a journey that would surprise and inspire us.
Our first stop was my team’s chosen charity – The Quantum House. Healing Hearts chose the Quantum House for many reasons. Quantitatively, though the house runs entirely on donations, we know based on their quality that those donations aren’t going to stop any time soon. The work that the Quantum House does for families in need is outstanding and awe-inspiring. Not only did we get to hear from the Executive Director of the house, we also got to hear from a mother and daughter that are staying at the house. Their stories about what they had gone through and how the house had helped them only made us more happy that we had chosen the Quantum House for our donation. The picture won’t load, but the check presentation was amazing and fun. The looks on their faces when we presented our donation ($1,017.16) was extremely gratifying. The hard work we put into our fundraisers felt worth it.
Next, we went to see Operation Troop Support. With them, we met a Vietnam veteran and the OTS workers who helped get him a new home to live in, and were rebuilding the home he was living in before. Because the veteran has disabilities he may not be able to live in his new mobile home, adjacent to his old property, alone forever. So, OTS is rebuilding his old home so that in the future, his family members can be near him with him still being able to live in his own home.
After this, we went to see Scripps Medical Center. Scripps was BEAUTIFUL. The campus was amazing and the tour of all the medical equipment, laboratories and research was extremely cool. The workers (our tour guides) were extremely kind and interesting! They even offered (PAID) summer internship opportunities to any of us who were interested. Team Cure for Life then presented their check. This was, to my surprise, one of my favorite parts of the trip.
Next, we went to the Palm Beach County Food Bank. Here, we watched an informative video on the real problem that hunger is in Palm Beach County. After that, we got to go on a tour of the premises and even got to go into the giant warehouse-sized refrigerator and freezer (30-40 degrees and below 0 degrees!) After that, we got to eat a delicious lunch and watch Team Hungry to Help present their check.
Finally, we went to Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League. Since we were running out of time, we only got to do a brief tour of the buildings, but we got to see many cats and dogs and also their surgical rooms and equipment. Team Cause for Paws presented their check and before we knew it, we were back at school.
Overall, this field trip was something that I believe every student – or every person – should experience during their lives. The feeling of seeing someone who is passionate about helping people get happy or excited about YOU helping THEM is a truly gratifying experience that I will remember forever.
Thank you Ms. Denison, Ms. Asplundh-Smith and Main Street Philanthropy for this opportunity.
I can’t believe we’re almost done.