when one of the moms at olive’s school asked us if we would like to volunteer to help those less fortunate…we jumped at the chance! when we lived in chicago and belonged to st. clement church, i volunteered constantly. it brings me peace and joy, i loved helping out others and the community around us.
we baked bread for sunday mass, we made lunches for the homeless, we volunteered at events, i led groups to support community projects…the list was endless and i felt it was the least i could do.
now that we are at a new church and school, i am finding my place again. we were in limbo when we moved from st. clement but we have finally found a place and home with our new church.
so, we were looking forward to giving back on this day. we arrived at the facility on a dreary day and when we walked inside, they had us sign in and put on hairnets. wtf?! i don’t think i have ever worn one. LOL it was a freakin’ i love lucy episode!
we sat down for an intro to feed my starving children…what it was about and what we were going to do. there were strict rules, like don’t touch your face or you will have to wash your hands, don’t touch your phone or you had to wash your hands, don’t chew gum, absolutely no jewelry, no cuts without a bandage, and if you don’t hit all those notes, you have to wear gloves.
we washed up and we were ready to go! our school group had a station and everyone took a role to aid the assembly line to package all the bags. olive and i took on the food portion and scooped the proper amounts into the funnel, into the bag. the kids then took turns, switching their roles but eventually, they all wanted to bag and count. that was probably the most exciting part! with each box we finished, our group cheered loudly and that created a lot of energy and excitement to move faster!
we had so much fun with the other parents and kids. it was great for them to learn and gain some understanding on what they were doing for others. plus, they had so much fun with one another!
after we packed for awhile, we were asked to clean up, and then we were called into the storage area to bless the packages that we had created. they then directed us to go sit back down in the gathering area and gave us the stats of our hard work. we completely exceeded the expected goal and we couldn’t have been more excited!
we left feeling good and hopeful that we helped make a tiny difference in someone else’s life!
[the group of kiddos helping out at feed my starving children!]
[luisa and olive]
[my and my beautiful girl]
[our hard work paying off!]
[we’re so blessed to be a part of this amazing community]
xoxo
