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I often hear a lot of pro-choicers claiming that pro-lifers spend more time "sobbing over unwanted fetuses" than going out and helping people that "already exist". Not all of them do, but I've heard it before.

This is a thread for pro-lifers and kind, respectful pro-choicers who want to share their experiences involving particular ways they've contributed to the community.

I guess I'll go first.

Last summer, in 2005, I got involved with my church and decided to tag along for Youth Week.

Youth Week is basically seven days of the summer where each day, we load up the buses at 10 AM and head someplace fun, where we can have a great time and still learn about our religious faith and morality. But it wasn't all about that; it was also about helping others, and being a good friend, and being dependable. You don't need to be Roman Catholic to be a good person, after all.

Well, on one of the seven days, we headed for an unhappy part of town, where the houses were crooked and old-looking and there were abandoned warehouses all over the place. Not really "ghetto", per se. But pretty close.

We eventually ended up in a small campsite-like area behind wired fences, stuffed with little houses that looked somewhat cute and simple on the outside. It was a temporary refuge for homeless people.

Our job? To grap mops, moist towlettes, a pair of rubber gloves, and clean. Just clean.

Roach eggs, rat droppings, mold/fungi, food and crayon marks on walls, an inch-thick layer of dust bunnies and dirt on the floor, clogged-up sinks, filthy windows, blood stains, whatever you could think of.

We. Cleaned. All of it.

Each little one-bedroom house was spotless four hours later.

I don't remember how many people were there; all I remember is, we worked our asses off. We scrubbed, we wiped, we sweat blood to bring those houses from third-world country filth to a decent home for those less fortunate than us.

The owners of the place hugged us and cried and it was really emotional. Everybody had helped make someone's life a little better by making their temporary shelter a decent one to live in.

Because I know that if I were to go homeless, or if I were born into a homeless family, that I would want to live someplace that invites me with sanitary conditions and a warm heart.

So, I ask all of you to post here what you've done to make someone's life better.

It can be anything from babysitting the neighbors' 1st grader to helping rebuild a neighborhood in New Orleans. It can be anything.

As long as you helped someone.

You may post as many experiences in one post that you can fit. 4laugh Or if you want to do many/a few different posts to describe each experience, that's perfectly cool too.

The only thing I ask of you is to be kind, and to include the *five Ws and the one H in your post.

*Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How.

How have you contributed? mrgreen

This isn't nearly as admirable as what you've done, Ebony. But I do feel it was something worthwhile...

About five years ago, I started playing Neopets, after one particulary tedious summer, I was so into it I started to post in fan forums. That increased my desire to find a community that shared my interest in the game. For those who don't know, Neopets has a guild system. Each account can join a guild...it's rather cliquey I guess because you can only join one. I was lucky enough to join a particulary active one. It's so big it needs a seperate forum off of Neopets just so we can communicate with each other.

Well stuff happened...leaders more on. This guild has now been officially under my leadership for the past year...unofficially for 2. And we're currently celebrating our 4-year anniversery. That's a real feat....an awful lot of guilds don't even make it to four months.

I know...an internet forum...so what. Well...I personally think it's a huge success. Due to the Neopets demographic, we have a large number of younger teens, pre-teens....I think our youngest member is 9 years old. But we also have college students/grads, parents, military wives, people in their 30's...that's a lot of different people. It's a big responsibility and I run a pretty strict house. I don't want to run an unsafe environment for that 9-year old. At the same time, things are active enough to prevent the older members from getting bored. A lot of people who don't play Neopets anymore still stay on the forums just for the community.

In the past 3 years where I've held some sort of leadership position, I've had to confront hackers, flamers...even unruly people within my own administration. But the past year has been a pretty peaceful one. I've counciled members...even if it's just to lend a willing ear. I'm never too busy to answer a question. No matter how bad my day may be going I don't take it out on them....I just can't do it.

I guess the reason why I think it's worth something is because people actually thank me for making "The Glade" what it is today and how it's had such a positive effect on them...it is rare for there to be a hostile environment and I think a lot of people appreciate going to a board where mutual respect is the law (trust me...we do NOT all believe the same things. Everyone, including me, has had their share of compromises). Though I realy only deserve about 1/5 of the credit. I've got 4 other lovely ladies and a lot of lower-ranked volunteers helping to keep the place going. Their enthusiasm is fantastic and I can never say enough good things about them. I've worked with people in England, Denmark, Hong Kong, Maylasia, Australia and several people with family living in India (though they themselves live in the US).

It may not be Habitat for Humanity or working in the soup kitchen...but what I do is still positively affecting lives and I'm really glad I was given this opportunity. ^_^>

...I think I've heard of The Glade. eek I can't remember if I ever joined it, but, when I played Neopets, I wasn't a big fan of the forums or the guilds. sweatdrop

Wow, Ebony...

That's so wonderful that you helped all those people!

You're such a kind person.... *sniff* heart

You put so much effort into it too. Not just emotionally, buy physically. *hugs*

Yeah. Stupid laws. I mean seriously- "Never too small to make a difference! Just be over 16."
In America, all I can do for official, signed, credit volunteer work is stuff goddamn HAY BOXES! gonk
rofl

Well, I've helped out a few times at Martha's kitchen with my Church. It a thing that lower income families come to on Fridays to have a meal.

I've also went on two missions trips. The first one was to Louisville, KY to help build a house for a lady and her granddaughter. Also during the trip build a deck for someone else.

The second one was this summer and it was to Grundy, VA to help out at the mountain mission school. During that time I helped to painted a gym, sorted some clothes, and help clean out a classroom that is currently out of use because they don't have a teacher for it. Some of the spices in the room was from the eighties.

Yeah....there are little things. Back when I was in college, I had to hang out around the nearby train station a fair bit. I've helped a few people needing money to take the trains or the bus or get some gas. I keep a phone card on me just in case I leave my cell phone at home. It came in handy when someone asked me if I had a cell phone they could borrow to call their ride home because they did not have change for the payphone. Admittedly I don't trust complete strangers enough to give them my phone but the phone card was the next best thing.

Mostly little thing...but its the little htings that add up i the end, right?

Baby sittign for friends. Tackign car eof my mom after she had four heart attacks ( miricle as far as I'm concerned, docotrs say she shoudl have died with the third...), dog sitting, covering the wood pile in our back yard to make a mack shift dry home for a mother cat that took up residence and gave birht to her kitten there. Later tackign in the mother cat andher kittns. Giving away spare change to any one who asked for it.