March 23, 2019
Today we started out by talking about the organizations we would be helping. We were going to work at the ReStore, which gets its stock from donors who give them household appliances, furniture, and other things they no longer use. The ReStore then sells these things for a fraction of the price of new items. This helps those with low income budgets afford things they might need.
When we arrived at the ReStore we watched videos about safety, equipment, and how much of a difference even one donation could make to someone. After the videos had finished, we put on blue aprons and work gloves and went to the back of the store where the donations were taken. There we met two incredibly nice workers who would be our managers for the day. They gave us jobs and instructions. We did a wide variety of work at the ReStore, starting with taking the donations inside. These donations were normally furniture, but sometimes we got things like toilets and raw materials. Some donations had to be cleaned by spraying a cleaning chemical onto the furniture and then wiping it with a rag. Other furniture had grease stuck on the top of it and we had to scrape it off with a clay remover. Later we started doing other jobs. We built furniture, stocked shelves, and took measurements of doors to know where to put them. We also met new people. We weren’t the only ones to volunteer at the ReStore. There were three other people who volunteered aside from us. It was great seeing people taking their own time to help out the community! We worked until 4:30, which was when the donation center closed. Once we were finished, the two employees told us how much us coming meant to them. They said we did a week’s work in one day! I loved this experience because we met new people, learned how strenuous a real job can be, and helped the people working at the ReStore and those with low income budgets. I would say this was one of the best experiences on the whole seminar.
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