JUPITER CHRISTIAN SCHOOL – When asked what one word is to describe the local volunteer trip she led, Mrs. Bloomfield replied with “rewarding” and her reason was because we gave back to the community.

Mrs. Bloomfield led her trip along with Mr. Wilson and Mrs. Rosa. This local trip consisted of volunteering at Starky Field, House of Hope, Quantum House, and Feeding South Florida. To top everything off the final day was spent at Universal. R.E.A.C.H. Week’s purpose is to help out others and what better way to do that than assisting the community around you.

The first day was spent picking peppers in the fields. Though the day was hot and humid, and everybody was sweaty and dirty at the end, the groups demanding work paid off. The group filled ten commercial sized bins. These specialty peppers will be sent to food banks and nonprofit organizations to be sent out to the community. At House of Hope, a mulching project was conducted along with the garden’s reconstruction and reorganization. Quantum House, another nonprofit organization, houses families whose children are awaiting surgery or are in the hospital for serious problems. This project was my personal favorite. Our service required simple household chores. We helped around the kitchen, organizing cabinets, pantries, and closets, fixed up the library, picked up the falling palm branches around the building, and moved storage boxes to and from the multiple rooms in the house.

Serving the local community is one of the best ways to give to the people. Our R.E.A.C.H Week assignment allowed us to help others in ways we did not know we could. We gathered food, took care of gardens and did so much more to help where we could. Our actions of love and hard work will end up assisting other people who are struggling in their daily life.