A Lesson in the Price of Hunger

In early November the Family Support Center at St. Vincent de Paul was visited by a group of young people and teacher moderators for a Community Service project for their school.  The visit developed into one of the most interesting experiences for, not only the young people, but for the staff and those we serve.  As was noted on our website:

When the students from Wesleyan School arrived at the St. Vincent de Paul Family Support Center this morning to volunteer, they suspected they’d be sorting clothing for the Thrift Store. Little did they know, they would have a profound, life-changing experience.

Their first impression was the smell of coffee, an absolute must in every office in the morning. They noticed the smell changed as they entered the Family Support Center. They said it smelled sweet, like baked goods.

They jumped right in sorting the donated bread and pastries and moved on to stocking the Food Pantry shelves. They were surprised and shocked to see how little food there was to put on the shelves. They went about getting everything on the shelves and asked their teacher, Steve Broyles, what else they could do to help. He gathered the group together.

The group talked for a few minutes and decided to take up a collection among themselves. They came up with $150 and off they went to purchase food at the grocery store.  This provided the opportunity to practice real life family economics. They returned with several bags and cases of food. SVdP weighed the items and they weighed 112 lbs. The students immediately got busy putting the newly purchased food on the food pantry shelves.”

The article concluded with the following sentence, “With hope, the lesson will resonate with them; they will share the lesson with their friends and families, and continue to look for more ways to help.

In yesterday’s mail I received a letter and donation from one of the young people who visited in early November. 

The letter reads as follows:

I am a student at Weslyan School and I recently came to work at the food pantry with a peer group a few weeks ago.  As you may know each year our high school students participate in Serve His Day, which gives us the opportunity to serves places in the community, and those that may be less fortunate.

I am taking a health class this semester.  One of our class requirements is to do a service project.  I did a project for my neighbors, taking care of two large greyhounds while they were away visiting family on Thanksgiving.  They paid me forty dollars ($40) and I am now sending this money to you at St. Vincent de Paul to use as you see fit.    Sincerely,  - A student from the Class of 2014.

Nothing more really needs to be said.  What a profound act of generosity!  What a story of hope!  What an example from a young high school student that speaks volumes to us.