My USA 250 challenge consisted of community service activities. I think many posts opt for the easy way to say they support community service by writing checks when organizations ask. But I think you have to be engaged in your community and show them you are there, more than an organization that gets donations from your chicken dinners and other fundraising just to host one major event each year and write a few checks. My monthly involvement has allowed me to connect with students, connect veterans with help and services they have been lacking, and help caregivers who did not know they had a plethora of support through various supporting agencies. Also, volunteering with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program saves our community and veterans thousands of dollars as we complete and file their income taxes free of charge.
I support specific events throughout the year. My reoccurring monthly event, hosted at our local library, is adult/child CPR-AED training. This event has paid huge dividends as it allowed me to teach three classes at a local high school, another class at a local church and three classes at our local military installation. These training events have enabled me to teach and add 92 EMS ambassadors serving as a first line of defense to improve the survivability of a person experiencing cardiac arrest. The youngest student was an 8-year-old with his 12-year-old sister and their mother. Additionally, I taught two sets of junior high-high school students. They are required to pass a written and practical examination. Since July 2025, I have successfully certified 92 students throughout the county. Their cards are valid for two years.
Also, each month, I serve as a volunteer advanced emergency technician with a village rescue squad. We are required to serve a minimum of two 12-hour shifts monthly. I am also currently in paramedic school. One of the most rewarding events that has occurred while I was a student was a person who had died from cardiac arrest; we successfully treated him and brought him back, and he is at home with no brain damage.
In November 2025, in celebration of our nation’s 250th anniversary, I taught a four-week every-other-week miniseries on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We began each session with the Pledge of Allegiance, and the first night we took a sample citizenship quiz to see if we could pass the exam. We had high school students and a couple in their 80s.