My group got involved in our community by volunteering at The Gathering as servers for their morning breakfast program. The Gathering is an organization dedicated to providing meals to those who would otherwise go hungry — all in an effort to feed people in the community in body, mind and spirit. This was all our first time volunteering together and our first time at The Gathering, so we did not know what to expect from each other or the experience. Due to the unknown, we had to show trust in each other by believing we would all represent the team well during our time volunteering by being respectful, hardworking, and team oriented.
Along with trusting that the team would perform well, we trusted that our team would actually show up to the volunteer event. The team showed accountability when we all were on time to the event ready to put in the work and effort. This accountability was consistently proven during the project because everyone turned in their share of the work in a timely manner and communicated when they needed flexibility with deadlines. Flexibility was very important to this team. We all had prior commitments and busy schedules. So if a team member couldn’t fulfil a request or fulfil a deadline, they communicated through our chat and was able to cover different responsibilities or extending deadlines.
Showing up to the volunteer event is how we proved to each other that we were accountable. This is important because one of our biggest conflicts was coordinating a time we could all volunteer together. We did not lack communication, though, we had excellent communication in-person and via text that helped us coordinate a time to meet even with our busy schedules. One had a vacation and travel booked for a time when other were available, and most of our team worked during the hours that many volunteer opportunities offered. By staying transparent about our schedules and being flexible with each other, were able to volunteer together without too many hiccups along the way.
Our role as servers was to serve every person who came through the doors and treat them with respect and be non-judgmental. The food kitchen serves members of the community from demographics such as low incomes, homelessness, mental illness, addicts, and recovering addicts. It was important to help The Gathering build a safe environment for people to break bread and socialize. Due to the nature of our role as servers, who we served, and the number we served, we had to stay committed to the policy of “No Second Servings”. A lot of the time, the people who come to The Gathering for one of their only meals for the day, but due to high volume we could not serve more than one helping of food. Although it hurt morally to deny a hungry person more food, we showed commitment to the bigger mission of serving all by saying no. Another responsibility we had was clean up duty. This was a feat, because we were cleaning after serving over one hundred meals. This meant cleaning trash off the tables, mopping the floor, cleaning the containers, and putting unused food back into the correct storage locations. We were able to do this by sharing the work load amongst my team and the other volunteers had joined for the day.
The results speak for themselves; we served over 100 people in need. It was fulfilling to see the result of our work serving others and making an impact on someone’s life. It felt good to give back to a community and meet the needs of someone who may not have the same opportunities as me. Seeing how a community can be supported by simple initiatives was inspiring to me. I was exposed to many different types of people as a result of the safe space The Gathering Provided. After this amazing opportunity to serve the community, I would love to volunteer again in the future for The Gathering. One thing I would like to share with others is that it’s easy to volunteer for The Gathering. Anyone can sign up on their website. They have breakfast, lunch, and dinner services throughout the week so finding a time to volunteer can be a breeze.
Organizations Squad! 