What a Day! Loving the Opportunity to Give Back

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My alarm clock went off at 5:45 am… Rise and shine… today will be an exciting and great day! A day that I’ll be able to serve and give back as I would volunteer at two ministries: The Stewpot’s Second Chance Cafe and The Wilkinson Center’s Food Pantry.

My day started off with a drive to downtown Dallas to The Stewpot’s Second Chance Cafe. At the Stewpot,  they are a nonprofit organization that serves meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner to the homeless in the downtown area. Since 2008, The Stewpot serves three meals a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, at Second Chance Café at The Bridge.

Today wouldn’t be any different. I arrived at 7:00am for orientation and got to meet other volunteers for the day including Mrs. Ashlee, the volunteer coordinator; Mr. Robert, Cafeteria Supervisor; Mrs. Sheila, Mr. Pete and Mrs. Teresa. Them along with my mom made a great team.

Being able to volunteer at The Stewpot opened my eyes to “Homelessness” in America as well as right here in my hometown. As, I served, I noticed people from all walks of life; young, old, professional, some disabled, some who have just fallen on hard times and just needed a little assistance in getting back on their feet. But despite the hard times, they all came with a pleasant greeting, laughter and a smile.

I was blessed this morning to also meet a gentlemen from Texarkana, Arkansas. He was full of knowledge and shared some with me. He share with me that Maya Angelo and Ross Perot were from Texarkana among others. He asked my age and when I said “16”, he would say 14. I’d say, “no 16”. He’d say 18. I say, “No, 16.” He’d say, “Boy, you know you 21!” He was a funny guy. During our talk, he kept putting his fist up to fist bump, but moved it every time I went to bump his fist… it was hilarious! To know that someone who had fallen on hard times could still make someone smile really touched my heart and brought a smile to my face.

I felt good knowing that these people in need were so grateful to us for being there to serve them and providing breakfast to them. I, too, was blessed for the opportunity to help the Stewpot on this morning to serve nearly 500 people in need, currently without homes… I won’t refer to them as “homeless”, because at this stage in life, they are just without homes. At some point, I pray that each of them will be blessed with a place they can call “HOME” again.

After volunteering at The Stewpot’s Second Chance Cafe,  I drove up the freeway to The Wilkinson Center, where I met Mr. Welton, the Supervisor and a volunteer named Franklin. The Wilkinson Center Food Assistance Program is open from 9am – 12:00 noon and provides one week’s supply of food, one time each month for qualified families. What was amazing to me is that the shelves and coolers were arranged like a grocery store and clients could choose items from each of the food categories.

My job here was to check clients in and be their personal assistant and to assist them with shopping. Some I even had to walk their groceries out to their cars.

This was a great experience as well. Although some of these clients had fallen on hard times, they were thankful as well and appreciated the assistance and support they were receiving.

Although this was a day off from school, I’m blessed to have been given the opportunity to wake up early with my mom and be able to give back to those in need! Today, I can truly say I learned first hand why I should be thankful everyday for what God has blessed me with and not take anything in life for granted!

For more information on volunteering at either of these ministries, click The Stewpot or The Wilkinson Center… you won’t regret it!

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