Reflection on Midnight Run

One source that we read in class that i could relate to this experience is Albanese's "Working Definition" and the 4 C's that the author says is the System that religion works in. The 4 C's being Creed, Codes, Community, and Cultus. The activities that took place showed 3 of these C's and the 4th C being Cultus is known to be a part of many religions. My point being that many of the religious people volunteering would have been completing Albanese's definition with Midnight run. the creed and code were completed by participating in helping the homeless and the acknowledgement that this is the right thing to do. And community can be tied to the various religious affiliations that Midnight Run is tied to. Honestly, I'd never helped in a soup kitchen or helped the homeless or done anything similar to Midnight Run before. Past volunteer experiences that I'd had I was only a part of because I needed hours to graduate, these experiences included volunteering at a child day care center and picking up litter. But only in college did I actually start doing volunteer work that would help people in a way that was immediately visible, examples, volunteering for city harvest and friends of rock away. Although for Midnight Run, in the shift that I ran, I did not interact with people in need being able to experience the process that would later lead to helping the homeless alongside people who actually wanted to help at their own will created for an environment of genuine kindness and love. What surprised me was also the type of stuff people had donated for this drive. There was a good mix of items and clothes. There was pillows, sheets, shorts, pants, dresses, tuxes, and sneakers. And they were all in good condition, in fact some of the clothes were so new that they still had the price tag on them. It amazed me that people will not only donate some old clothes in good condition but they would also go out of their way to buy new clothes for Midnight Run. These people did this out of their own good will, i could only assume their way of thinking, like maybe they thought that the homeless deserved just as good a life as they were living despite their own lives not even being that well off. Unfortunately, I was not able to stay for the rest of the shifts, but after that first shift I felt extremely satisfied because of my involvement in Midnight Run. Just knowing that i was able to help with such a good cause, I felt good about the person that I was and became because of the experience.