By Mark Vickerman, Broker
Several years ago, we were feeling that we weren’t doing enough to give back to our community and environment or helping those that are less fortunate, so we went in search of opportunities to serve others. My sister Kris had been doing her part for years and said we should join her down at First Covenant Church Homeless Shelter to feed 50 adult men and women experiencing homelessness. We took her up on it and have never looked back.
I am not sure we knew what to expect when we first showed up. It ended up being part chaos, part confusion, part revelation, part feeling bad and of course part feeling good. The person running the program at the time was a towering man named Norm who we discovered has an absolute heart of gold and has became a good friend of ours.
Around 6:00 people start to stream in registering with the volunteer coordinators, claiming their piece of real estate on the floor and getting their mattress set up as we’re hustling around the commercial kitchen preparing the meal. As a volunteer your responsibility is to plan a meal for 50 people, purchase all the ingredients, prepare it fresh that evening, serve it and then wash the dishes and clean everything up.
Norm was good to give us a tip, don’t serve the usual stuff; spaghetti, pizza or soup. So in true Vickerman fashion we made and served a meal to be proud of, including Teriyaki Chicken, rice blend and green beans, another time Enchiladas with rice, beans and organic green salad and Nana’s Egg Bake with her famous baked French toast and fresh fruit salad. To be honest, it was fun to create a different meal every time.
At 6:30 it is go time! These folks are hungry, cold and tired. It’s the people you are serving that change your life! You realize very quickly that they are no different than you and me. They just made a wrong turn, were never set on the right path to begin, or were just receivers of misfortune. Most striking to us was the high number of people that came in dressed for work, confirming our belief that so many are trying to make ends meet and are doing there best to stay off the streets. No matter the situation, they just need help and it feels so darn good to be a part of that. They always expressed extreme gratitude for the meal and you have the opportunity to sit down and eat with them, if you’d like, once everyone is served. Many are willing to share their stories which brings you to realize there is a lot of misfortune out there and we should all be grateful to have missed out on it. At the end of the night we yell good night and they all express thanks again! And then, our hearts are full.
Now its been far to long since we last served so, we’re gearing up for a few more opportunities later this month and into the spring season. If you’d like to get involved, let us know. We can always use the help!