Volunteering is an amazing opportunity to help gain more experience and to get a sense of happiness in a person's life. Last summer, I began volunteering at Camp Anchor and it was the BEST decision I've ever made to this day! Camp Anchor is a wonderful program that brings the residents of the Town Of Hempstead together as a community. Over 700 campers come to the program during the Summer and the Fall/Winter/Spring program each year. Anchor is a huge part of their lives; these wonderful individuals look forward to Anchor every single year and it is the place where they are happiest. Over 300 volunteers and 200 staff members work with the campers every single year, and it is also an important part in their lives! As a volunteer, I can truly say that Camp Anchor has changed my world and my perspective of life! I look forward each and every camp day to coming into work with an infectious smile on my face because I get to be with the most wonderful kids in the world! I am hoping to eventually get staff once I get more experience. There are many advantages of volunteering at Camp Anchor that I would love to share. Here are the top 3 advantages of working at Anchor.

1. Your Self-Image Will Improve Immensely

Being a volunteer at Camp Anchor has improved my self-esteem so much because I was able to help people out, other than myself. When I was working in a camp setting, I felt very positive about myself because I knew that I had a great heart for working with the community to make the world a more lovable place! The Town of Hempstead is a very kind and loving community; volunteering here has changed my whole perspective on life itself. I felt so good about myself because every day I was surrounded by positive vibes and energy from all the campers. Just seeing the infectious smiles on their faces and how excited they were for the daily activities made my day a whole lot brighter!

2. You Will Have More Empathy Towards Others

Empathy is the capability of being able to understand or feel what someone else is feeling from within. During the day, many of our campers experienced tons of emotions and once we got to know them, we were able to feel exactly what they were feeling and understand their emotions. Whenever a camper was feeling down in the dumps one day or was very emotional, I had always been able to understand completely what they were going through and I was able to successfully help them in their time of need (unless it was the last day of camp, which was the saddest and most emotional day of the year.) Having empathy for other people will help take you far in life. Every camper that I had on the buses I volunteered on, in the groups I volunteered in, and in the whole camp in general had a heart of pure gold and so much enthusiasm!

3. You Will Not Stop Talking About Anchor

♪Camp Anchor is the best camp in the land! ♪Yes, we sang that song during Home EC with our campers and this song is 1,000,000% accurate! Whenever I am hanging out with fellow volunteers and staff outside of Camp Anchor, we do not stop talking about Camp Anchor. The campers have made a huge impact in our lives and we would always talk about how wonderful they are. When I am with family and friends, I always share about my days of Camp Anchor because every day has been better and better. Trust me on this one, Camp Anchor will be something that will have a huge part of your heart. I cannot go a single day without thinking about how wonderful this place is. We are a very loving community and we accept everyone. I don't use the word disabilities ever when describing the wonderful campers. I usually say that they have many special attributes and abilities. Don't focus on what one can't do, but focus on the amazing things that one can do!

This statement is completely accurate and it was this year's theme. Since volunteering at Camp Anchor, I have been changed for the better! I have a completely new perspective on life. I have decided that once I get all my prerequisites done at college, I will be changing my major to Special Education to work on my goal towards becoming an ABA teacher! Unfortunately, that means transferring schools by junior year, but because of Camp Anchor, I finally found a profession where I can go and be happy. Best of all, I can still work at Camp Anchor during the year and summer so it is truly the best of both worlds! I cannot wait for the next session of Camp Anchor to start and I cannot wait to work with the wonderful children and adults who have amazing abilities! Please consider volunteering at Camp Anchor because it will truly change your life!♥