Giving Back To Our Host Country

While studying abroad, we were able to give back to our host country by volunteering at ThreadTogether and Kids Giving Back. Our lead faculty member, Dr. Malicoat, arranged two days of service learning for us during our last two days in Sydney. This was a great way for us to give back to our host country, which had given us so much in the past three and a half weeks. 

ThreadTogether provides clothes for people all around the world. This organization keeps clothes from going into landfills and instead helps those in need. These clothes are all brand new with tags. The donations are made possible by Fashion brands that donate unsold stock. During our service learning, we learned about the dire need to consume less fast fashion and support environmentally friendly alternatives such as buying second-hand or buying quality clothing that will last versus fast fashion that is only trendy momentarily. We learned how over 3.5 million people in Australia do not have access to essential clothing. During our service learning, we were able to pack orders for individuals and families in need. These orders seemed so personal. I saw my peers as they tried their best to pick the most practical clothing while still choosing items that matched in order to make outfits these people could feel proud to wear. We were told to add more socks and underwear than asked on each order, and we did just that. Each order provided extra socks and undergarments. The order my roommate and I worked on was going to a church that was helping refugees. This made the order that much more meaningful as we tried our best to pick items that we felt each individual would enjoy and feel comfortable in as the cold season neared.  

At Kids Giving Back, we were able to learn about their nonprofit organization and how they help provide meals for unhoused people. We learned about the housing crisis in Australia and how many individuals go without proper meals. We were able to make and package meals while personalizing them with messages that spread love and kindness. This experience taught us to analyze our interactions with houseless individuals and humanize them in a world that tries so hard to do the opposite.