Pictures

Outside of the organization where I performed my volunteer work.

Gettin my sweep on in the backroom.

Posing with my dolly, after wheeling in loads of furniture.

Inside the store, this part of the store is where the clothing, books, and movies were kept.

Taking out the trash.  This is behind the store and is the area where I spent most of my time collecting and sorting through donations.



Analysis

St. Vincent de Paul is an example of a civic organization.  They take the donations they receive from the generally “wealthy”, or more fortunate, donators and then sell them out to the less fortunate.  I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to the work there, and in doing so was able to see this process.  Unlike many organizations that simply beg for money donations, St. Vincent de Paul uses a clever system to help others, a system I’d call “recycling”. 

The chain begins at the top with the donators.  Car after car pulled up with various items ranging anywhere from electronics to clothes, or furniture to toys.  These items were valued as useless, worn out “junk” to the donator, but to the organization, these items still possessed value.  The items were them sorted out and priced at extremely low costs and placed in the store to be purchased, which brings us to the second link in our “recycling” chain.  At this point people who have less money come in and search for necessities or pleasure items.  For example, while working out back, one gentleman donated what he described as “a couch that has lost its cushion”.  But once we cleaned it up a little and priced it (at 60 with an additional 35% off), a lady came in, took a seat on it, and exclaimed, “It’s such a blessing to have stumbled across such a comfortable couch!”  Hearing this made me realize how much those of us who are wealthier, don’t really appreciate the possessions we have, yet at the same time I was touched to see how overjoyed the woman was with the couch. 

            The third link in this chain comes from the money received from a purchased item.  Keep in mind St. Vincent de Paul is making money without producing their own goods; it’s solely off of donations received.  With this money they do various things for those who really can’t even afford the used goods.  One thing they do is take the money from the goods sold, and they use it buy food and clothes for those who have none.  Also, around Christmas they give money to kids so that they can purchase toys in the store.  This way the kids can receive some gifts, and at the same time, learn what it’s like to pay for goods (an experience many spoiled, wealthy children are cheated out of). 

With that third link, the St. Vincent de Paul “recycling” chain is completed.  The experience of working with this organization allowed me to see just how important civic duty is to our society.  For without it, who’s to say how many families and individuals would receive items that many of us take for granted.  I also learned through volunteering, that the civic duty of volunteering is still very alive and well to this day, and I couldn’t be happier to say that.  Clearly society is helped through volunteer work.  For if it wasn’t for volunteers, organizations like St. Vincent de Paul would possibly cease to exist.  So while there are many forms of civic duty, I feel that if individuals can merely make a decision to donate some of their time to helping others, our society would be better off.

Summative on Civic Duty

According to dictionary definition, civic duty is, simply put, responsibilities of a citizen. With that being said, a new question is posed: What are the responsibilities of a citizen?  James Wilson emphasizes the rights of citizens with this: “Let no one, therefore harbor, for a moment, the mean idea, that he is and can be of no value to his country: let the contrary manly impres­sion animate his soul. Every one can, at many times, perform, to the state, useful services; and he, who steadily pursues the road of patriotism, has the most inviting prospect of being able, at some times, to perform eminent ones." (Wilson, 1788) Essentially James is saying that no man should ever feel that he is of no use, for every individual can and should help the community, and by doing so, the country in which they live.  This voluntary help can come in many different ways.  An individual can enlist in the army in time of war; serve on a school board; assist at a local food bank and many other ways.  The real point is, the opportunity to volunteer is out there, it’s just up to us as citizens to seek out these great opportunities.

            Though civic duty is generally seen as a citizen volunteering their time, there is more to it.  A citizen also has the duty to vote, for if they don’t vote they are doing their country a great disservice.  By voting, an individual is putting forth the time to, in a sense, better their country.  Also on the topic of giving time, jury duty is another way in which citizens should give back to their country.

            Civic duty has other various benefits.  When it comes to accomplishing certain tasks, having a group of individuals within a community, as opposed to a massive government, is quicker and more efficient.  The founders of the Constitution agree with this for it’s stated that, “The Framers' second assumption was that American citizens would undertake responsibility for the ordinary functioning of the civil social order and that local communities would manage their own affairs. Under their system, the roles of the various levels of government would be minimal and would not unnecessarily intrude into the day-to-day lives of the citizens.” (Stedman & Vaughn, 1987)   This also relates to an analogy my father told me.  He said to assume the government is an elephant and you need this elephant to do various tasks spread out over an area of land.  But since there is only one elephant these tasks can take an ample amount of time to complete.  Then assume that the people are a pack of mice.  With tons of mice, though small, they can disperse in different directions to complete their tasks in greater numbers and with greater speed.  All this being said, it’s probably true that if the government focused all their attention on a specific civic duty, it would probably be accomplished in an instant, the government does not have the time nor the ability to do this.  For this reason, the Constitution indicates that it is the responsibility of the people, not the government, to perform civic duties.

            “It may be reaching, but perhaps-as relates to government-civil can be seen as referring to the broader idea of civilization and the affairs of many people, while civic relates to the more personal needs and responsibilities of the individual citizen.”

Bibliography

1.  Wilson, J. (1788). The responsibility of citizens. Retrieved from http://www.nccs.net/articles/ril67.html

2.  Stedman & Vaughn, Initials. (1987). The responsibility of citizens. Retrieved from http://www.nccs.net/articles/ril67.html

Explanation of My Service

I chose St. Vincent de Paul because I wanted to be apart of their mission, “people in need — and the general public — can shop for low-cost clothing, furniture and household items. The stores also operate as neighborhood distribution centers, where the people we serve can receive much needed items free of charge. Our store sales help fund the programs and services we provide to the homeless and working poor.”  Upon arrival at St. Vincent de Paul I was truly unaware of the tasks I would be completing.  My first impression of the store was that it was old, cluttered, and to a kid from Anthem, uninviting.  But, even with these immediate nerves and doubts, I was still eager to get my hands dirty and help in any way I could.  Little did I know, I’d really be getting my hands dirty performing some intensive labor.  I was placed out behind the store, where I and an ex-military man, Lance, (or “Muscles” as I began to call him) would unload people’s various donations.  We then took these donations and did one of three things: placed them in bins to be shipped downtown for other stores, threw them away, or priced them and put the items out for purchase.  I found it astonishing at the amount of items that people donated simply due to the fact that they viewed them as useless.  Ironically we would take these “useless” items, and place them in the store and then watch individual after individual scoop them up as if they had just found gold.  For two days I was able to participate in this great process.  As I stated above, I really wasn’t looking forward to the service, but after I began working I enjoyed what I was doing and now looking back I am thankful that I was able to help those in need.