Working on the Weekend

My work schedule is pretty flexible and variable so sometimes I work on the weekends. This morning, one of my high school Red Cross Clubs decided to volunteer at a local meal/clothing site, King's Harvest. The whole project started with another student at the high school who wanted to get multiple student organizations involved with this site. She sent an email explaining the volunteer opportunity while encouraging student organizations to volunteer. With very little encouragement from me or the club's advisor, the club members expressed that they wanted to volunteer.

After some confusion about what vehicle I could take at the Red Cross (the one I had signed up for was not there when I arrived at the office), we met at the school and headed over to King's Harvest. We thought we would be serving breakfast, but because they didn't need us there we got sent downstairs to the clothing area (where my grandma volunteers every Saturday morning! It is also where my family donates our old clothes and large shopping bags). It was not where we expected to be, but the kids adapted well and went with the flow wonderfully. It was really neat work - I hadn't volunteered in this type of location before.

People in need can come to King's Harvest on Saturday mornings to take clothing items they may need. There is a limit to the number of items they can take in one day. Today, there were also blankets and they serve about 200-300 (i think that is what the leader said) people every week! Since my grandma is a regular volunteer, I had heard about it, but I didn't know exactly what went on. It was hectic. There were so many people who visited, but it was still organized in some odd way. I was a cashier/bagger with two of the club members and some high schoolers from another group. We bagged their items as well as helped them get personal items and toiletries. (Now I understand why my grandma always wanted any big shopping bags we got - it is hard to put a blanket or comforter in a small grocery bag)

The visitors were so grateful many saying thank you to all of us in the "checkout" line.
Others barely said a word.
Some talked about others that were too embarrassed to come here.
Some had specific wants or needs they were trying to fulfill. One boy desperately asked for a back pack for his school books - we were out of back packs, but a duffel bag fulfilled his need.
A few mentioned being excited about finding things they could wear to their new job.
Most of them were very positive. After asking how he was, one man replied, "I can't complain". That was pretty eye opening. I complain that I have to eat pb&j most days for lunch and here this man had to visit a meal site/clothing site to fulfill basic needs and he didn't have anything to complain about.
Many talked about how helpful this was to them and how excited they were to have a good pair of socks, one new pair of underwear, and a new big blanket or coat. I feel pretty awful for complaining all through jr. high about "not having anything to wear" when these people have nothing or very little and they are happy to just get 10 items.

This work made me feel great because of the thankful attitude from most of our customers, but I was also lucky to hear from my high school club members what they thought of the experience. To most of them, it was something new. They had gotten up early on a Saturday and helped a lot of people. They found the work eye-opening and rewarding. I love seeing youth realize how great volunteering feels when completed. They all had positive things to say about their experiences and expressed that they would love to go back another Saturday for more service work!