“Wake up you’re going to be late!”

It was a typical summer morning, as I slowly dragged myself out of bed my mom began

bellowing from the kitchen for me to eat breakfast.

“What do you want? A breakfast sandwich, cereal, oatmeal?”

“Wait what?” I replied; my half-awake brain could not process what she was yelling.

After devouring a piece of toast I became more alert, I quickly got dressed and jumped

into the car. My palms began to sweat as I shifted back and forth in my seat.

“What time should I pick you up?”

“Uh, I don’t know.”

As we approached our destination my forehead began to glisten. I wanted my mom to forget the idea and take me back home.

“Bye sweetie, have fun!”

Too late. She was gone. I became overwhelmed as I walked through the entrance. It was a typical Thursday morning at St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix. Hundreds of people swarmed the facility: middle aged men who had lost their jobs, mothers with small children who had lost their homes, and elderly folks who could hardly walk. There was a ceaseless line of people curving itself like a snake around the food banks perimeter.

The head volunteer greeted me with a smile; she briefly gave me a tour of the facility and introduced me to other volunteers. The other volunteers were very friendly and were a joy to work with. It was nice to see many people from different backgrounds coming together for a common cause. I joined them and went straight to work on the fast paced assembly line. The assembly line packaged and distributed food to people in the community. St Mary’s distributes emergency food boxes, at no cost, to families in need. Once the food was packaged volunteers would help load food into vehicles using grocery carts. It was like a trip to the super market. Zoom zoom went the carts in and out of the building. Fruits and vegetables went flying in the air as loud voices filled the room.

I struggled at first but with the help of other enthusiastic volunteers I took off with jet
speed and was able to keep up with the rapid speed. It was a non-stop adrenaline rush.

Throughout the day I was also able to mingle with a few of the families and hear their stories and how they became in poverty.

I had never imagined that community service could be such a rewarding experience.

Seeing the joy on people’s faces when I would deliver their box of food left an everlasting impression on me. Listening to the people’s stories and experiences made me aware of the many blessings in my life and how fortunate I am to have a loving, supporting family.

I am now more open to community service opportunities and have encouraged my family members to volunteer as well.

In any case, although my legs ached at the end of the day, the pain was worth it.