The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Grace H. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Take Action - Volunteering for a Social Action Organization
To complete my social action hours, I participated in three different events. The first was the Tea Party on the capitol lawn in downtown Lansing. TEA stands for Taxed Enough Already. This was part of a nation-wide movement to bring awareness to the federal and state governments that we citizens will not tolerate their reckless spending and be taxed for it. I was shocked by the number of people there for a regular Tuesday work day. Everyone had their own homemade sign with catchy slogans and pictures. These people weren’t just radicals or extremists, but everyday citizens who want government to be responsible with their money. Four or five people spoke, including "Joe the Plumber". The experience opened my eyes to see that there really are good old American citizens who are brave enough to stand up and take action.
The next event I attended was on May 8th. It was a rally to pressure the Clinton County court to provide justice for Duane Schafer. Duane is a hard working, godly man who is devoted to his family and is getting scammed by the court. After a tragic divorce he has been struggling for custody of his kids for two years. He has been nickled and dimed by the court system and put through endless unfortunate situations. The purpose of the rally was to show the judge presiding over the case (Judge Michelle Rick) that Clinton County will not tolerate injustice. We began by covering the whole event in prayer. We made about 60 signs from poster board ahead of time and someone contacted 50 media sources to cover the event. Five or six people spoke, including Duane’s brother, son, and a very famous man named James Muffett. A local Christian band played in the beginning and end and everything was organized just right. Over 300 people attended. God seemed to bless our efforts and Duane was not taken to jail as was threatened. The only big disappointment was that the only media that showed up was the Clinton County News and they didn’t print an article about it until 4 weeks later. They still have not printed the letter to the editor I submitted. So much for "current events". I spent about 2 ½ hours making signs and went early to pray and help set up. I learned much from participating in this event, from the faithfulness of God to the perseverance of an incredible Christian man, to the influence of the U.S. citizens. It was a great experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
The last social action I was involved with was volunteering for Habitat for Humanity in Clinton County. We worked on a new house in Victor Township. It was a large and beautiful home built for a single mother and her son. The construction was done, so we simply worked on clean-up. We moved tools, supplies and junk out of the basement, sorting useable things from the un-useable. Then we swept the entire basement. We had to wear masks because it was so dusty. It was enjoyable working with the Habitat members who were very kind. I got a lot out of this experience.
Giving my time to the community really helped me see how many good organizations and people there are out there trying to improve our nation.
