Community service for UNACCOMPANIED minors

For my community service project I chose to contribute to a donation drive to help children lead by a Siempre Sustainable member in partnership with his, and multiple churches. During the collection time our state was (and is still) processing thousands of undocumented children from Central and South America who were seeking refugee from the unfavorable conditions they were in.  According to pbs.org the number of unaccompanied and undocumented children range from 63,000 to 70,000 in 2014 alone,  the children range from new born to teens, and geographically they come from virtually all South American countries. In the San Antonio area 1,200 children are being housed at an emergency shelter set up at an air force base. These kids are in need of basic toiletries, clothing, toys, and people to talk to in their native tongue. The items collected through the church were driven to another church in Laredo, a town on the U.S./Mexican border. This town is the goal destination of many of the children and this is where many of them get their basic needs met before they are processed and bussed to other cities.  I chose this project because helping children is something I love to be a part of. I put a post on Facebook asking my friends and family to donate their children’s clothing to other children who have literally nothing but the clothes on their back, and I was excited by the quick responses.  I picked up bags and boxes of clothing from everyone and ended up with over 150 items for boys and girls of all sizes. The best part was knowing this was just a start and more was on the way through the efforts of all the combined churches. The most challenging part was knowing that even though we are helping the children here and now, there are still more coming daily.  The experience made me more aware of the social injustice problems outside the U.S. and also made me more appreciative of what I have merely by being born in a certain locale. I realize how blessed we are and how uneducated we are at the same time and my struggle is to find the balance of gratitude and grief felt. I am happy I was able to help those in need and get others involved so quickly and almost effortlessly.