Southwest Rotary International: Feed The Homeless Campaign

I began volunteering at a non-profit organization in Burbank, Burbank Temporary Aid Center (BTAC). This organization focuses on assisting homeless and low-income individuals and families. They provide various services:

For my service project, I chose to work at the Meadowlark Meals organization. This organization takes in donations of food and uses them to make meals for children at the school to take home on the weekends. If these children did not take this food home, they would not eat at all over the weekend. I chose to work at this organization because I love kids and it is sad to see them hungry when I have plenty of food to eat. I wanted to make a difference in their lives and I thought that this organization could help me accomplish that.

Throughout my high school years, I have been apart of the Interact Club run by Rotary International. Several volunteer opportunities transpired from this experience, but I discovered a newfound interest in one of the encounters. Volunteering at the local Richmond Bethel Church for the organization Food4life, I was ecstatic once I began serving food, not only were there many familiar faces that came weekly, but there were much more that were in need of these charitable acts than I had anticipated. Having lived in Richmond my whole life, I was truly oblivious to the reality of poverty within it. Joining Interact Club was truly both uplifting and humbling and was a stark reminder of how vulnerable we all are to circumstances that can affect our

The summer before high school, I decided it was time to get involved in the community. A close family friend who attended my church offered a volunteer position with her organization called Clothes to You that supplies low-income families with free attire. The non-profit organization resonated closely with me as my tribe, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, suffers from severe financial hardships, and realizing how life changing an organization such as this could be I promptly accepted her offer. On designated days we drove the mobile van to predetermined locations and transformed the desolate parking lot to a bustling shopping center. People of all ages filled the aisles and I assisted shoppers searching for outfits as varied as interview

During this semester's service learning project, I chose to serve at a community organization called Church On Wheels, Breaking Bread Soup Kitchen. Every night Monday through Friday Breaking Bread opens its doors to the community and provides a meal at no cost. Their mission statement is simple: To carry the gospel of the Lord through feeding the hungry and helping those in need. With this Christ-like love to His people, every night employees and volunteers come together to provide a meal that does not only feed them physically but nourishes the soul of everyone that enters the doors. Within the city of Midland, Texas you will find a diverse culture and community. Due to the recent oil boom, many families found themselves struggling to put a meal on the table. Breaking Bread saw the need in the community to open the doors every night to see that no one would go hungry in our town. With a commitment to see that the poor and needy are served with the love of Christ. On any given night you can expect to find

After searching for hours over the internet and sending many emails, I chose the Washington United Youth Center (WUYC) to volunteer at . It was simply perfect; there were many eager students at the school, located in a poor area, waiting for help. It pleased me to see many students

Catonsville emergency food ministries (CEFM), which provides food, and household supplies to the homeless and needy population, is where I did three hours of my service hours. All though this was not my first choice, as I thought I could not learn anything from it, and it would be boring and not engaging. I was wrong; I didn’t know the work and knowledge that went into planning, for the day to day operation of a food bank. The building itself was small, and lack adequate space for storage, and working. The week prior they lost all of their meat supplies due to a freezer malfunction, which left a slight death smell in the building. The volunteers were very nice and helpful in showing me around, and answering question. I was actually surprised that one of the volunteers was 16, and was doing it just to get out of the house.

I have participated in the program Lunch Is Served, held at the First United Methodist Church in Sioux Falls. The goal of this program is to gather volunteers to pack lunches to aid the working poor, ultimately fixing the major hunger problem in Sioux Falls. I have attended this volunteer opportunity five times, and plan to volunteer again in the future. Essentially, those who participate pack as many brown paper bag lunches as possible in a streamlined fashion. Included in the bag is usually various nutritious snacks and a wrapped sandwich that will be given to those in need. My experiences there was very humbling, due to the fact that it made me realize the impact one person can have on the community. All it takes is a half hour of

The first place I volunteered at was Feed My Starving Children. Feed My Starving Children is an organization that makes nutritional meals for malnourished children. The meals are called MannaPacks and they are packed with rice, soy, dried vegetables, and flavoring. Each station has to measure the ingredients into the bags, weight the bag, then seal the bag. My role was sealing the bags and putting them in a box; and I did that for two hours. My volunteering and the volunteering of others really helped out because 27,000 meals were packed in our shift, which feeds 74 kids for a year. The other two hours that I did, I helped the staff clean up and take everything down. I benefited from this experience because I actually felt like I somewhat

I volunteered at the Hubbard House, which is a home away from home for people who have family in the hospital or are being treated by the hospital and don’t want to live there, as the hospital is a 5 minute bus ride away. Our job was to serve the residents who were currently housed there, a hot homemade spaghetti and meatballs meal with garlic bread and assorted desserts. We served them as if it were a restaurant and brought smiles to their faces.

Throughout High School, I led multiple philanthropic projects. As president of the Ignite Organization, I involved students to raise funds for, and volunteer at a pregnancy center. I assembled a team of volunteers, and initiated fundraisers. This effort transpired over a year and continues to affect my community. I also developed a supply-drive to assist Hurricane Sandy victims through benefit events. Furthermore, I volunteered at summer camps as well as at my Parish as a counselor.

meals to people on the streets, pass out backpacks with necessities inside, and you could even

Me and my good friends Josh and Daniel volunteered at Salvation Army. Salvation Army is a place that people who don't have houses and can’t afford food or other essentials. They provide homes for homeless people and food for people who have a home but cannot afford food because of house taxes. They also have apartments connected to the food building. We did lots of different things at Salvation Army like we prepared and served meals, washed dishes, mopped the dining room and also cleaned up food. And all the other things we did are on the paper. We actually did everything on the list! The experience there was amazing knowing that I am making a difference in people's lives by serving food and helping clean up around the place, and we also got an opportunity to talk the some of the people around the

Throughout this past year, I was able to work alongside local Lions Club members as they put together their annual Christmas Care Project. I had the responsibility of posting flyers and putting together Christmas cards. This gave me a great sense of pride and a reminder of the amount of people this organization helps every year. It was crucial for me to complete all of my tasks, so the project could stay on track. Volunteering has showed me the importance of doing my part and completing duties on time.

Another way to help out the homeless is to volunteer at a shelter. Places like the Fox Valley Warming Shelter are a great place to help out. You can bring blankets and food for people, and you can give them some care. Same goes for the Fox Valley Humane where you can help walk the dogs, play with them, keep their cage clean, and help