Name: Kristin Compton
From: Avon, IN
Votes: 0
Ever
since I was a child, I always knew that when I grew up, I wanted to
help people in any way, shape, or form that I could. That desire to
help people has led to many volunteer opportunities through church
and school. This passion for serving and giving back to my community
has followed me to Saint Louis University, a school that recently
celebrated their bicentennial by completing 200 years of service in
just 1 year. Choosing to attend this university to continue my
education to become an Occupational Therapist has given me an
abundance of opportunities to volunteer and give back to the areas of
St. Louis and beyond.
One
of my ways of getting involved on campus was joining a fraternity
focused on service, Alpha Phi Omega. I joined a crew, or a group of
“brothers”, who go to a continuous service site, ours being the
Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital Foundation. I chose this site
because it correlated with my chosen profession of being in the
healthcare field and I wanted to help the children be children. We
volunteer there once a week for 2 hours doing anything we can to help
make the hospitalization of a child easier on both the child and
family, such as wrapping notes of hope to give to the patients when
they feel like they need a smile or sorting toiletries for families
who do not want to leave their child to use. One of my favorite
things we’ve done is sort through toys and activity books to give
to the children staying in the hospital. The donations give the
children lots of exciting things to do to distract them from what’s
going on around them and allows them to enjoy their youth in between
the countless tests and screenings. I have found that being a
volunteer for this foundation is very rewarding, because while there
is no patient interaction, we are doing everything we can to help
make the hospitalization more fun and less dreary. Kids only get to
be kids once, and I want to help them appreciate their childhood in
any way, even through the rough patches. I want the bad memories of
the hospital to be overpowered by the good memories of playing and
having no worries, just like what many of our childhoods were full
of.
As
an Occupational Therapist, I am hoping to find work in a Pediatric
Hospital, just like Cardinal Glennon. With this as my career choice,
I will be able to help rehabilitate kids back into playing and
enjoying their childhood for all it has to offer. I believe that if
you volunteer and can help 1 life, you are making a difference.
Volunteer activities are always meant to help and making 1 life
easier can mean all the difference in the world for that individual
and their family. Giving a child back their memories can lead to them
growing up to be a happy adult with a life they love.
