American Creed. What does it takes to be American?

The Idea of service to our country or to our community seemed to be a repeating theme with a majority of the people in the film American Creed. The idea of serving my community is something that I strongly believe in as well. From a young age, I have grown up trying to do what is right and helping those in need. Not everyone has the ability to grow up in a good neighbor and live without a struggle. According to the NCCP of the 15 million children growing up 21% of them and their families are beneath the federal poverty line. This is a huge population of children that do not get the same chances as a normal kid. I believe it is our job to give back and do what is right for our communities, so those who are less fortunate have better lives.        

I have been apart of the St. Paul's youth group in Elizabethtown, Pa and once a month we wake up early and travel to Harrisburg and serve breakfast to the homeless. It is a way in which my youth group gives back to the community. We serve them breakfast and talk with them about their lives and it gives you a warm feeling that they appreciate us for what we are doing. For many of these people, this is the only warm meal they get for weeks so they are extremely thankful for what we do. In addition to this, our youth group gathers clothing and we set up a room where we give out warm clothes and basic essentials like toothbrushes and shampoos for those who need it. It is an easy way that we can give back to our community and help those out in need. In addition to this, I am involved with an organization called Mini-thon. We raise money for kids with pediatric cancer. It allows the families not to worry about the cost of treatment and gives many kids the opportunity to live out there lives cancer free. I am a leader and give up most of my school mornings to organize fundraisers so we can get the money needed to help out these families. Being a part of an organization like this is just one way to make a difference on a smaller scale to your community.         

Like so many of the others that shared their stories about the "American creed", the majority of their stories revolved around the idea of service in our communities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistic, there was only 24.9% of Americans to volunteer in society. Imagine if we could get all 308 million people in our society to help out and give back to their society. As a whole, the United States would look like a completely different nation if everyone decided to look towards a certain goal and come together as a nation. All of that would be nice but that is on a national level. If we shrink it down to our individual communities we can learn how to help out on a smaller scale. I believe it is our duties to help out and give a helping hand to those who are less fortunate. This is my American creed but we are so diverse this is not what everyone has to believe. This is simply one reason why I consider myself American.