I have been working at NSP for a little over a month now, and my experience so far has been incredibly rewarding. Every Tuesday and Thursday (my volunteer days) I look forward to knowing that my day will focus on helping others better their lives rather then my own. At times, I admit it can be overwhelming. A client will come in with what seems like a million different issues, all seemingly impossible to sort out in the little time that the client and I will spend together. However, taken slowly hour by hour, day by day, week by week, I have seen how NSP succeeds in helping even clients requiring large amounts of help in many different areas. Whether it be helping people search for jobs, create resumes, or find shelter, I have helped people reach their goals and brought them closer to the resources they need to achieve better lives. Today a woman came in needing help to renew her visa. At first, I thought how could I help her? I don't know anything about immigration. After using the Legal Guide NSP provides, the nspedia website, and a legal contact Nathan provided me with, I was able to find the organizations that could help this woman. Hopefully she will be able to get her visa renewed and it will be due partly to my efforts, Nathan's, and the other volunteers at NSP who have contributed to the vast resources and plethora of knowledge that the organization has. I can't wait for Tuesday when I get to come back to NSP and help more people better their lives as the woman I helped today.

I have always loved working with people who I know might not have the same opportunities as I have had, but working at NSP has brought this to a completely different level. The level of poverty in America is disheartening to say the least. Living here in DC, going to Howard, and working at NSP has truly made me realise how ignorant yet, blessed I am. At home I tutored kids,worked at soup kitchens, and collected food for banks, but I never thought much of it. I guess in that hour or two of time my friends and I spent volunteering, we really thought we were having a major effect, that we were making an impact. We were making an impact, but it wasn't substantial. Working at NSP has made me realise that there is so much more that needs to be done to help alleviate poverty here within the United States. Thanksgiving break is coming so soon. It's going to be interesting returning to my nice home and cars and seeing my friends again. Interesting, why? Because I'll have a different outlook on things. This whole experience has really opened my eyes, I only hope I can pass this knowledge on to my friends who are completely unaware.

Thanks for reading our first ever NSP-DC post. I apologize sincerely for the corny name of our website:-)

NSP-DC's blog is a chance for you to share your experience with other NSP representatives-- frustrations, success, insights, whatever you think could contribute to our own understanding of the work we do or the experiences we have. Please consider this an open forum for thoughts, communication with our diverse, dispersed, both geographically and academically, volunteer base.

Let us know how we can better serve you. Tell us about a great resource you found for your client! A job you found, a resume template you used. Tell us about the frustration you and your client faced with the housing authority and its six year long waiting list or about the face your client made learning they had their first email address. (Corny, I concede. I liked Rudy, what can I say). Or just tell us that classes are OK and NSP is your haven or vice versa.

This is yours to own and learn: