By Diego Roman
One of the biggest reasons I wanted to join Footprints was to have the opportunity to make a happy and positive impact on the kids the organization worked with. I had friends tell me they loved the experience and, after attending an online information session, I knew I would make it my goal to join. Fortunately, that goal became a reality in August 2023 when I was accepted for the Fall ‘23 semester. Ever since then, I have had the most wonderful volunteer shifts with the kids on the unit with activities like Minecraft in the playroom, competitive Uno, playing out the fantasies of the kids, and plain old coloring. But there’s a catch with all this: you only get one three-hour shift per week and trust me, sometimes I wish we had two shifts per week. But that is why we have all our amazing members. Luckily, Footprints has outside volunteer opportunities that are equally as fun (although, maybe not better than Uno on the unit).
Our Community Outreach (CO) Directors do a great job of finding awesome opportunities to get involved, and trust me I have regretted missing out on some of them. One event that I really want to highlight was the Climb for Cancer Gator Mountain Challenge at the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The event involves teams signing up and raising money for Climb for Cancer, but also competing against each other to win prizes. I remember not considering it, until last minute my friend (and Footprints CO Chair) Rebecca contacted me saying she needed two more people for her team. I texted my shift buddy at the time, he said he was up for it, and we were good to go. Our team was called the “Sole Survivors” and we climbed hastily past our competition. We made it to the semi-final round before we were unfortunately defeated, but we fought hard and strong. I believe our team had raised more than $200 and as a whole, the event raised more than $20,000. There are so many opportunities per semester, and I am so glad I participated in this one as I not only got a free t-shirt, but I also made memories that will forever be with me. Footprints is a wonderful organization that at face value might only seem like hospital volunteering, but it is so much more than that, and these opportunities are what add richness to it.
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