Muhammad Ali once said, “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.”

Here, at Omaha Media Group, we’ve made giving back to our local Omaha community a top priority. Our team has discovered throughout the years that not only do we love volunteering as individuals, but we really love volunteering together.

On Thursday, August 2nd, 2018 our Monsters took a trip to the Salvation Army to help with their Back to School Backpack Program. This program provides thousands of children across the metro with backpacks full of school supplies. We love that this program is a practical and personal way to volunteer while seeing the direct local impact it creates.

We took a few minutes to chat with some team members about their experience.

What was your job when you volunteered at the Salvation Army Back to School Backpack Program?

Carrie:
I unpacked and organized the school supplies into different sorted boxes.

Jack:
Opening a lot of glue stick packages, and a lottttttttt of eraser packages in a Henry-Ford-style assembly line.

Steph:
Taped boxes with Mahi (from a pallet of broken down boxes), sort school supplies to get ready for backpacks to be filled.

What was your favorite part of volunteering?

Steph:
Seeing so many different people come together to help out. On this day in particular, getting to organize. I also love office supplies.

Chelsea:
My favorite part of volunteering is giving back to our community. It is great to work with a company who values the community it is located in and wants to help others in the area.

Jack:
I liked watching the progress happen over time. When we started, we had a seemingly unorganized collection of boxes lining the gym walls. By the time we were done, all the random pallets and boxes had been sorted, organized and put into labeled boxes that we were able to stack. It was a great visualization of the work we'd done.

Carrie:
I honestly love organization and I used to look forward to getting my school supplies every year so it was really cool to know that the stuff I was unpackaging was going to children who really need it.

How did volunteering with the Back to School Backpack Program make you feel?

Jack:
I liked knowing that we were getting the dirty work out of the way. We did the un-packaging and tedious work so that the next volunteer group could simply throw a few pens and a few glue sticks into each backpack for children in need. It made me feel good to contribute to this process.

Chelsea:
This always makes me feel happy. I enjoy knowing that a family or child in need of supplies are going to be getting what they need in private.

Steph:
It feels good to know that you're making a difference in someone else's life, even if you don't personally get to see that difference. It also makes me appreciate my own life and realize how good I have it. It's definitely a good bit of a reality check. It makes me feel like I need to be doing more to help out others in the community - and makes me realize how many more people may be struggling than I even realize.

Did you learn something, practical or otherwise while volunteering?

Jack:
I learned that doing anything in an assembly line kind of format speeds it up drastically. It also slows down the hand blisters.

Chelsea:
The lesson to always remember is that there is someone out there who could always need your help. Donate that $1, buy school supplies for kids and try to give back. Things always change in our lives and someday you might need help.

Carrie:
The leaders were really passionate about the cause and very thankful that we were there to help. I have always loved volunteering. I think it's important to give back to those in your community who are less fortunate.

Where else have you volunteered?

Steph:
SMILE Equine Therapy

Carrie:
I used to volunteer at a homeless shelter in Lincoln called “The People's City Mission.” I would put all the toppings on everyone's salad for them. There was actually a man from Italy who would just want “GARBANZO BEANS!!” lots of garbanzo beans. It was really cool because I got to interact with the kids there and it made me feel really good.

A huge thank you to the Omaha Salvation Army, their leaders, and the community for donating supplies to make their Backpack Program a success. We enjoy supporting a local community that supports local businesses like ours.