JUMP (Join Us Making Process) is an organization at school that hosts events like the one I participated in last weekend. Glide is located in San Francisco and they serve hundreds of meals daily. About 60% of their staff are volunteers and on April 30th, I was one of them. I helped serve food to those who cannot provide food for themselves and it was honestly an amazing and fulfilling experience to know that because of the help of everyone working there, people were able to receive a meal.
We were a group of 20 people and they split us up into smaller groups. Some people were in the kitchen cracking eggs or cutting ham and some people were putting the meals together. I was put in the group that would hand out the plates of food. I worked in the coffee room which was for people with disabilities and also people who have small children. The way it works is people walk in, sit down, and raise their ticket so they can receive a plate of food. For an hour, people walked in and out and I walked around serving plates of food and also refilling water pitchers. I thought it was amazing how they they catered to everyone’s need. If someone wanted a fresh plate of food not one that had been sitting for a couple of minutes, we got them a fresh plate. If they wanted a vegetarian plate or no sour cream or salsa, then we got them exactly what they wanted. Glide reminds them that they are humans too.
It was a great feeling knowing I was helping people in need and I enjoyed it because I was actually interacting with people. I even spoke to one of the guests at the coffee house, and he said he was very grateful for people who volunteer because with out our help, he wouldn’t have had a meal that day. Glide reminds people that although times can get tough, there is always hope it will get better. Volunteering reminded me of how privileged I am to have somewhere to sleep and food to eat. As cliché as it sounds, it’s true. So many people rely on places like Glide to receive a meal and clean water, with out these support systems, people in need would not have somewhere to go for these resources. If you would like to volunteer, you can contact JUMP to find out about more events like the one I attended or sign up with a group of friends on their website www.glide.org. (I was also told that if you arrive with a group of about 3 people you are welcome to walk in and ask if help is needed that day.)