Student never heard Army warning: Never Volunteer
by Diana DeLeon, reporter

    Even though volunteering for a shelter is difficult emotionally, Sara Still continues to do it year after year because it makes her world a better place.

    “I know that somehow, someway, I am giving back just a little bit of something that I take advantage of every day,” she said. “I keep going because I know that there are people out there who will never have what I have.”

    Still, a NE Campus student, volunteers for various organizations and carries a full load in the dental hygiene program.

    For Heart Walk of America, Still set up the registration table and ran it with help from friends for the event.

    “It was fun, very rewarding. The people are nice, and all the money goes to a good cause,” she said.

    Still believe that it takes just one day out of her life to make a difference in others’ lives.

    Experience gained while working in the dental hygiene program clinic at the NE Campus is used for sealant day, a program that offers cleaning, exams and other services free for children in the Metroplex.

    Still also teaches under-privileged children how to care for their teeth.

    Jackie Johnson, associate professor of dental hygiene, is impressed with Still’s enthusiasm.

    “Sara goes beyond in her volunteer work,” she said.

    Still’s role models are her grandparents who volunteer at the Presbyterian Night Shelter and introduced her to the shelter.

    The shelter in downtown Fort Worth houses homeless and people of limited means.

    “They have all their belongings in a little 6-by-8 space,” she said. “They could be robbed by the people living next to them; you just never know.”

    Hundreds of people—families, a mom, dad and six children on cots—are crammed into a room the size of the cafeteria.

    “I cannot image living that way at all,” she said.

    Still collects clothes, shoes and non-perishable food items close to the holidays and delivers all of it to the shelter with help from friends.

    “Last year was very emotional for me,” she said. “All those kids were crying, watching you walk in with all the stuff and watching you walk back out. It was just awful; I cried all the way home.”

    Although rewarding, volunteering is not easy. Still believes.

“It is draining. It’s hard not to cry when you see all those kids looking at you and see how they live,” she said.

    Still thinks that self-reflection is a side benefit of volunteer work.
“People don’t realize how lucky they are, that they have a place that’s warm. It’s freezing in there,” she said.

    Sara also volunteers with Metro Port Meals on Wheels and Open Hands.

    Still points out that anyone can volunteer.

    Not all work is emotional, and some volunteer work is fun. Sometimes the job involves just helping out with paperwork.