By Jan Nguyen
On Sunday April 23rd, our Rover Crew volunteered for the Soup Kitchen at The Salvation Army. The group had volunteered here in the past, but it was the first time for a lot of Rover Scouts, including myself! In this blog, I’m going to share the story of what it’s like volunteering at the Soup Kitchen for the first time, and tell you why this was such a worthwhile experience.
When we arrived at the building, there were already many people lining up outside and waiting for the doors to open. My group walked inside together. We signed in at the registrant and then met the project manager in the Kitchen. The staff were very friendly and welcoming. After leaving our belongings in the locker room, we divided into 4 groups.
One group worked in the kitchen. We were a conveyer belt for trays and utensils. The second group prepared the bread, the third another served water, and the last group served food to the tables for seniors and children.
We had to work really quickly to serve the 400 meals within an hour!
The people who sat in and ate at the Soup Kitchen came and went. I noticed that some were in group and some just sat by themselves and ate quietly. Some didn’t eat. Instead, they packed the meal in their own containers perhaps to save it for later. It was nice to see how graceful everyone was. They gave us big smiles and thanked us when we left the building, and we gave them warm smiles back.
The work was simple, but it made us feel good. We hoped that the people enjoyed their Sunday dinner!