Hearing about the many people who have experienced hardship and a need for food as a result of the pandemic really compelled me to want to do something to help. As I was thinking of ways that I could possibly serve them in the midst of these unprecedented times, I found out that my school Stevenson does an event called Give-A-Thon, which is an event that raises food donations, baby items, and gifts for the people who need it. Upon hearing about this opportunity to serve others by raising donations, I knew that I wanted to get involved, and decided to sign up to bring food donations to the Vernon Township Pantry. However, there was only so much I could do on my own, which posed the question of how I was going to safely fundraise with minimal contact and social distancing. After thinking through a few ideas and discussing with my family, I concluded that doing a donation collection box by setting a box in front of my house would be the most viable option. Being new to the neighborhood, I wasn’t sure how the turnout was going to be; however, I knew that whether the result had a large or small impact, my compassion for those people out weighed any uncertainties, which motivated me to take action and joyfully create flyers to let the neighborhood know about the donation box, and paint an eye catching bright red sign to place on the box. My dad was kind enough to join me to pass out the donation flyers around the neighborhood with my dog, meeting a few neighbors along the way! After reaching my house, I set the box on a table on the front lawn leaving me excited to see what would entail. To my amazement and surprise, the next day I was greeted with the sight of donations, so many that the box was not large enough to contain them, with donations placed on the table as well. I carried the donations into my house still amazed by the immediate generous and kind response from my neighbors. Day after day for the rest of the month, I was immersed with the compassion of my neighbors for others, just by seeing their donations in the box nearly each day and taking them inside to carefully stack cans, wrap glass jars, and organize packs of spaghetti and snacks in boxes so they wouldn’t crumble. However, not everyday was that smooth sailing; some days I would walk out in the cold weather or rain so the donations wouldn’t freeze or be soggy, and I had to repaint a green sign after my red sign got blown off of the box. Yet with each donation taken in, it was so heartwarming to see the generosity of my new neighborhood, and I knew I was doing the right thing when I saw the encouraging notes that accompanied some of the donations from my neighbors. My next door neighbor went on a Costco trip to buy donations and dropped them off at my house, and being inspired by her heart to give, I also took a similar Costco trip to buy some donations. As Give-A-Thon came to a wrap, I took the box inside, and began to sort the donations for one last time and began counting them. The results were truly beyond what I had imagined, and my parents and I were surprised to see that we would have to drive two cars to the food pantry. After we had dropped them off, we returned to deliver thank you cards to the neighborhood on the same route that we dropped off the flyers. I am so incredibly thankful to everyone who helped give, as I believe that these donations will help make someone’s holiday season brighter in this difficult time. I am looking forward to next year, to see how Give-A-Thon will unfold, but this year (my Freshman year), not only did this collection drive teach me organizational and leadership skills, but also the love of my community has inspired me to become even more generous and show kindness to others.