The month of April is National Volunteering Month. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 64 million people volunteered at least once between September 2010 and September 2011. It is so important to recognize those who give back to their community and neighbors. Take time this month to give back and do something for someone else.
On Margot Schulman’s first day at the Lunch Box Soup Kitchen in Poughkeepsie as the Kitchen Manager, she was eager and excited to get cooking. She looked out of her office into the service area. One of the groups that came that day was from a bank in the area.
“A woman dressed in really nice clothes with her hair all done up was serving next to a young African American man dressed in cool street clothes. They were smiling, laughing and making jokes with each other. That’s one of the most special things about this place. People from different paths of life who wouldn’t usually come in contact with each other, come together here,” explain Schulman.
In 2012, the Lunch Box served over 110,000 meals. One of the recent initiatives is providing meals with more nutritious value. With the help of local farmers and establishments, such as Stop and Shop, Shoprite and BJ’s, the Lunch Box receives the healthy ingredients they need for the meals they prepare each day.
“We get unlimited swipes in the dining hall. I felt like a lot of that food is going to waste. I wanted to do something to feed others,” explained Emily Denny, a freshman volunteer at the Lunch Box. “The other day two little kids came up for seconds and we had to tell them to wait until everyone else got their first plate. At Marist, we are able to go up 2, 3 times. It’s so sad, but I do feel so lucky,” continued Denny.
Sometimes it is hard to see all the troubles and hardships people face when we are so fortunate to attend Marist College. Marist becomes your second home and you find friends that become your Marist family. It is easy to forget how lucky we are if we never step out of the “Marist bubble.” There are families and people struggling to find hot meals each day right next door. The Community Service Program gives students the opportunity to step out of their comfort zone in order to make a difference. The best way to truly find yourself is by giving back to someone else who can never repay you.
Campus Ministry is one of the largest clubs here at Marist. Hundreds of students participate in the Hunger Walk and The Giving Tree each year. One program that has been losing members recently is Campus Ministry’s Community Service Program. Campus Ministry’s main mission is doing good things in the name of God. The Community Service Program is the perfect example of this mission at work.
For my senior capping project, I created The Red Fox Reach magazine to promote all of the great opportunities students have to volunteer right here in Poughkeepsie by participating in the Community Service Program. The Red Fox Reach highlights certain sites and students that have participated in the program. These students’ journeys show how volunteering in the Poughkeepsie area has changed their lives and made their college experience that much more rewarding.
For more information on how to sign up to volunteer, visit http://www.marist.edu/studentlife/ministry/communityservice.html.
Keep your eyes peeled this May for a copy of The Red Fox Reach!