Soup Kitchen Volunteer
Posted on March 1st, 2008 in QOTW, Work/Volunteer |
Ahh, the excitement of early Saturday morning service projects, just one of the responsibilities of being a cabinet member in Youth Parliament. Now, I have to first say that there is an intersection known for its infamy throughout North America: Main Street and East Hastings. Those few blocks contain perhaps a few hundred people who are homeless, addicted to drugs, or mentally-ill. The streets are lined with them: dressed in rags, and carrying broken shopping carts and tin foils filled with food. Even my parents are terrified to go through the area, especially at night. So a few blocks away from this intersection, we participated in a volunteer soup kitchen inside a church.
We spent a few hours preparing sandwiches, pasta, drinks and fruits and then opened the door to let the what seems to be hundreds of unfortunate men and women in. While madly dashing about offering milk and coffee, I have to admit I was sometimes a bit freaked as to the kind of people I was dealing with. There was one guy who was professing his love to all the female volunteers o_O
QOTW: When was the last time you volunteered? How was it?
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I'm Crystal, a Canadian who thinks she can take on the world simply by getting up each morning. They call me the caffeinated IBer wandering on the Internet. 
5 Responses
Top work on the volunteering. The only time I did volunteer work is when it was part of the school program in year 9. I did volunteer at a daycare centre. It was alright, though I am not a huge fan of kids. Are you going to be doing it again??
Kudos to you for volunteering - not everyone has it in! I’m sure your tales of the crazy homeless will be optimum blogging material in the future :biggrin:
A while back I worked in a school for children with special needs. ADD, Tourette’s, Down’s - you name it, they had one or two of each. I don’t like kids but they were amusing little mites regardless.
That area you describe sounds a lot like an area in my city that I used to frequent because it was on the way home. I was terrified of walking through there by myself; I was even scared to go through there by bus. Over time, however, I learnt tolerance/acceptance of the people who I deemed dangerous.
The last time I volunteered…hmm…Friday?
Lawlz.
IB’s emphasis on volunteerism has made me a regular volunteer. I have my Service hours fulfilled and yet I keep volunteering. I volunteer as a “counsellor” for troubled teens (even though I am one myself xD). It’s emotionally draining when you realise your limitations as a sort of helper, but ultimately the rewards (if I can call them that) outweigh the emotional drain.
I volunteer weekly at my Chinese school, helping the little kids in their paper cutting class. While little kids can be frustrating, I doubt my experience compares to your dealings with homeless people. Ah well, an experience is an experience. There’s always something to be learned.
The last time I volunteered was last summer at a lab. I helped conduct experiments, clean out test tubes, etc. It was okay; I think I’d like volunteering at a soup kitchen more because it seems more interesting and I’d feel like I’d be making more of a difference.