Jennifer and Rob Tower Memorial Scholarship

When deliberating this essay topic as to how I plan to serve others in my life, I was overwhelmed by the wide array of service projects I have been actively involved in since a very young age. Being actively involved in FFA (Future Farmers of America) and 4-H, service projects have been a steadfast part of a well-rounded and successful. So naturally, I am passionate about growing and developing new ways to serve. We had done the typical canned food drives benefiting the local food banks, the toy drives benefiting the local child advocacy center, the Angel Tree benefiting students in our very school, and the trash clean up projects to keep our school and community clean. However it was not until I was in ninth grade that I found my true passion and opened my servant’s heart to the idea that I could do more. Here is the story of how one individual opened my eyes to do more. We were in Fort Worth, Texas for a convention, in route to one of the general sessions, and talking about whatever high school kids talk about when walking a mile in the Texas heat while rocking a corduroy jacket, when I noticed a lady lying alongside the path we were on. She obviously had sat down there to rest I thought, but as we got closer I realized that was not the case at all. She was dirty, had a suitcase that probably contained everything she owned sitting on the ground beside her, as she read a grimy old book. I thought about what I had seen, distracted most of the sessions by asking myself if she was okay, had she eaten, was she getting too hot in the weather, how could someone let their mom, aunt, grandmother live like that? After the convention we headed back to the vehicles to head to our hotels, and in our path back, there sat the same lady, only this time she was curled up asleep on the ground with her hand on the book and legs resting on the suitcase. Another member and I dashed to the vans and fixed a bag full of sandwiches, chips, and water then rushed it back to her. We placed it beside her and backed away quietly as not to disturb her. We had done a good deed. But, that deed sparked an interest in me. Over the next few days, I dropped a bag of goodies as I passed her, and never disturbed her naps. When I returned from convention, I started a service project known as blessing bags. These bags contained snacks, water, hygiene items, and socks (which is one of the most requested items I learned). We hauled these bags everywhere with us and distributed them to hundreds over the last five years. I have met homeless people across the state who were grateful to see young adults with a servant’s heart, some who shared their story of how they ended up living in the streets, and some that were just thankful for the bag of hope. My prayer is that the members that have been a part of this will continue to do this service project as they travel across the state and pass the project down throughout their years of service. As for me, I have set a new goal for my service project. I plan to attend college and become a veterinarian. I would like to give back even more than a blessing bag because as we distributed those bags, I noticed many homeless people have pets they tend to as well. Several had dogs and cats they fed before they themselves ate. Pets that provided solace and comfort to their owners when despair was all they could see. A dog curled up in his owner's lap as they napped on a park bench reminded me that everyone needs someone to believe that hope still exists. I would like to be able to offer free services to the pets of those in need, because to them, that dog or cat is their entire world. I feel that providing those services at no charge would greatly benefit not only the pet, but the owner as well. Spaying and neutering, vaccinations, and other services needed would benefit both the pets and reduce worry for their owners. Additionally, I would also like the owner to be able to pick up pet food whenever they needed it. Homelessness is a problem in the United States with over three hundred thousand people a part of that static. There are over five million dogs and over three million cats recorded as homeless just this year. Much like a homeless pet, some of the homeless people I have crossed paths with have no one. I myself have been abundantly blessed and never had to experience hunger or homelessness. I have taken in stray animals over my seventeen years, and personally I can attest that they have been some of the absolute best pets I have ever owned. I hope that through my efforts I can continue to provide blessing bags to both people and their animals. And while I have no solutions to the homeless issue facing our country, I can be an active part of helping those who live it everyday.