JUPITER, FL, February 24-29, 2024 – In a world where everyone is focused on helping themselves, it is important to take time and reach outward and help the community. Community outreach is the number one goal of R.E.A.C.H. Week at JCS.
After doing a fun option with SCUBA diving last year, it made sense to give back to the community this year. I chose to do the Local Outreach R.E.A.C.H. Week with Mrs. Bloomfield. The goal of this trip was to serve the community in whatever way possible, from gleaning in the fields to sorting food, and end the week off with a trip to Universal Studios, as a fun end to a week of helping others.
The week started on Saturday, with gleaning tomatoes, but I was unable to attend the first day because of the first track meet of the season.
On Monday, our group volunteered at House of Hope, spending time packing boxes of necessities for people who either can’t afford them or can’t get to the store to buy them. The boxes contained things like packaged food, hygiene items, and socks. After finishing the boxes, we went a block away to their garden/food forest and helped to clear debris for more things to be planted.
Tuesday we spent at a warehouse belonging to Feeding South Florida, where we sorted and packed packaged foods for food banks in the area. My job was to take heavy boxes of sorted items and stack them on big pallets in the back of the warehouse which was kind of fun.
Wednesday, some students stayed at school to help elementary teachers, while the rest of us went out for community service. We were meant to go to Quantum House, but they canceled on us so we went gleaning for a second time. This time instead of tomatoes, we gleaned for corn. This was an interesting experience because we ended up working with kids between 1st and 5th grade, and it was a chance to build community with younger students.
On Thursday, we were rewarded for our hard work over the week by going to Universal. Students had to be up early and arrive at the bus by 6:30 in order to arrive at the park in time to spend the day there and be back home by 8:00 in the evening. First, our group went to Islands of Adventure, where we had a chance to enjoy the roller coasters. We were able to go on Hulk several times with only a 10-minute wait, and Velocicoaster at only half an hour. After we had a blast at the one park, we went to Universal Studios and rode Rip Ride Rockit, as well as Revenge of the Mummy. I enjoyed this part of the day because I have only ever been to the Islands of Adventure side of the park, so this was a new experience for me.
Overall, I enjoyed this R.E.A.C.H. Week trip and would recommend it to anyone wanting to serve the community. This trip is a great opportunity to work with peers and get community service hours and a trip to Universal. all in all, this trip was awesome.
