Helping People, Changing Lives Published Sept. 7, 2016 By Staff Sgt. Jairus Wimberly 341St Recruiting Squadron JBSA-RANDOLPH,Texas -- I have been in recruiting since January. Over the course of the last eight months I was able to find a nice groove in recruiting to where I can get involved with my local community in Houston and still be proficient with my job. Like any other rookie recruiter, I’ve had my share of struggles, whether it was disqualifying someone or providing job counseling. I joined recruiting through the Air Force's Developmental Special Duty initiative. Coming into recruiting I had an optimistic attitude that I was going to do well and I continue to keep that mindset even now. The past three months I have been giving a lot of my free time toward helping in the community. My first event was helping The Mission of Yahweh with my Delayed Entry Program members. The Mission of Yahweh is a non-denominational emergency and transitional shelter for homeless women and their children since 1961. I talked to my DEP members about how my mother at a point in her life was homeless and there weren't organizations like this available for her at the time. I let my DEPpers know that when they join they too will have opportunities where they can volunteer and do things like this and it will help them embrace the Air Force’s core values. My next volunteer opportunity was with Stand up for Kids in Houston. Stand up for Kids is a national non-profit organization that provides life-saving and outreach services to homeless and at-risk youth. During my time as a volunteer, we walked around the local community to hand out toiletries, snacks and business cards. The business cards gave the individuals information about an event that Stand of for Kids held every Friday. During this event, individuals who attend the event were given food donated from local restaurants. The event also provided a job fair where they learned to fill out job applications and apply for jobs. The latest community event I’ve been involved in has been the most rewarding out of anything I have done in my life. I volunteered at the Memorial Assistance Ministries to be a citizenship teacher for a class of 24 non-citizens, four nights a week. I started teaching the class in June, which concluded Aug.18. What I learned about these men and women is that they wanted the "American Dream.” For the older students this was their first time in a classroom setting and they were very eager to learn. The schedule was very demanding, talking to people all day at work and then teaching at night took a lot out of me! I learned about the lives of people who aren't citizens and the struggles they go through on a daily basis. I learned so much about them, their background and the variety of cultures they came from. We did different fundraising events like dessert bake-offs, and everything earned from it went to the local kids who couldn't afford school uniforms for the start of the school year. Getting a chance to volunteer with something like this was truly rewarding and seeing some of the students walking across the stage for the first time in their life is something I’ll never forget. Volunteering for me is personal and a very important aspect in my day-to-day life. Growing up seeing my mother not have the same opportunities that these organizations now provide, creates that urge inside to participate and make a difference. I have also found that these opportunities provide great opportunities for recruiters. While volunteering allows us to give back to our communities, it also allows us to build relationships with the people in our community and increase awareness in the Air Force. In addition, I have found that volunteering has connected me with possible influencers that I would have not met otherwise. If you have the desire to volunteer but are concerned with the time commitment and possible conflicts with managing the demanding recruiting job…I’m here to tell you in can be done. As a recruiter, being involved in your community is not only personally rewarding, but helps the recruiting mission by building a lasting, positive impression within our communities.