Make A Difference Day was October 24th this year, but since several VISTAs were out of town on that day, we did it before hand! Overachievers!
On October 19th, four VISTA members volunteered to help prepare and serve breakfast at The Banquet in Sioux Falls. According to their website, The Banquet "is a feeding ministry that serves hungry people in our community in the spirit of dignity and respect." Dinner is served Monday through Friday at The Banquet, in addition to a lunch every Saturday and breakfast every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On a given evening, 350 to 450 people show up for dinner. During our time on October 19th, I would estimate we served close to 200 people.
While volunteering, VISTAs tackled different duties, like Tami Francis pouring milk, water, and coffee, Melissa Fose washing dishes, and Amy Majeres being the "runner" for the food line. In addition to being a rewarding experience, serving at The Banquet gave VISTAs an opportunity to see povery in Sioux Falls up-close. Reality can be the best motivator, and I think I can say with certainty that every VISTA left The Banquet with a renewed sense of inspiration and more determination to "build capacity" and eliminate poverty.
It definitely moved me to "make a difference."
Check out some of what we did on the Flickr page.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
"On a given evening, 350 to 450 people show up for dinner. During our time on October 19th, I would estimate we served close to 200 people."
So, are you saying you scared away half of the usual crowd?
Post a Comment