Today was the best day of the New York Alternative School break trip so far in my opinion. I was so impressed with everyone today and they have shown me how they are all leaders in their own way.
The first person I met was a college graduate who decided to volunteer again after six years. I thought that the organization must have made a serious impression if he was volunteering regularly again. I started cutting carrots and onions and with my team, we cut up over 150 pounds of carrots and 200 onions. It was so rewarding to see all that food cut up by our team and how it will feed the 1,600 clients the organization has on their list.
The lunches were the meals the organization serves their clients who are immuno-compromised. They were delicious! It was so much different than I pictured. For the second shift, our teams broke up into groups and were working on different things. Lindsay, Ariel, Hannah, Alex, and Jess wrapped 1,600 whole grain rolls in plastic wrap and filled up boxes with it. We then joined the rest of our team and cut up the mushrooms and potatoes. Bridget and Tracy worked on desserts and met some interesting volunteers, It was great to see how people of all backgrounds found something in this cause and were sticking with it. The kitchen was decorated with tiles with numerous named printed on them with red hearts, making the whole place warmer and more welcoming. One could really see the lives of the people this organization has touched and I was honored to be a part of that.