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Health & Fitness

ShareFest Service Project Makes an Impact

One topic was consistent, the words "Thank you...I just can't believe how great this is".

On September 10th, my fiancée and I spent a portion of our day assisting in a ShareFest 2011 service project. The day did not start off well as we arrived at the registration and soon found we had locked our keys in our car. Fortunately, we received some help, and about an hour later we were finally ready.  At one point, we had thought it was too late to begin and considered just going home.  In this letter is exactly why we were beyond thankful we did not go home. Our project was to clean windows and trim bushes for a local resident who was in need of assistance. Upon our arrival, he greeted us and explained it had been some time since the work had been done. He had lost his wife to cancer, and would appreciate if we could help him out. We did so for about 3 hours. During which time, he was kind enough to get water for us since it was a hot day.  

As the work was being completed our host spoke to us the entire time. Many life experiences were shared. We both have a background in engineering, so there was a bit of shop talk to be had. One topic was consistent, the words “Thank you….I just can’t believe how great this
is”. I’ve been on a few service projects in the past, and I’ve heard “Thank
you”, but this time, it was beyond just words. So much so that leaving that day was difficult. To have such a genuine person spend the time talking to us, and then to share memories of his life with us, was strengthening. We were called out to do a service project to help him, but in all honesty, this particular job helped us just as much as we helped him. We sincerely hope to see him again.
 I hope this letter reaches everyone, especially people who have yet to participate in a ShareFest service project. When you arrive to help people, sometimes it may just seem a task to you. But often, it turns out to be a lot more than that. An uplifting learning experience is what  we deemed this one. We left feeling so full of love and hope, that it shook us. And if we had one chance to give any one person a piece of advice, it would be this:  “If you haven’t done so already, take some time and volunteer. Trust us, it’s definitely worth it.” Thank you to everyone involved. If you would like to have a ShareFest experience, please contact us. We have 500 opportunities to serve. 200 in service projects alone.

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