Feeding People Inside and Out
Sitting down with this group of strangers at a table to eat was so uncomfortable for me that I came very close to not eating at all. I had worked with a group of teenagers from a local church to prepare food for the weekly Sunday Celebration at this little neighborhood nonprofit in one of the toughest parts of Rochester. After everyone was served, we had an option to go out and eat with the community members.
I wasn't sure why it affected me so much. I have been volunteering for years to help feed hungry people. Sometimes many of them have mental health challenges. This time, though, I connected the faces and stories of those people around me with the stories of my parents, my grandparents, and the kids I grew up with in a small farming community upstate.
From that day on, I decided that I would send small donations when I could to support Cameron Community Ministries. I know that they are helping some of the neediest people in that neighborhood with food, clothing, and educational programming for young children.
There are thousands of places like this little neighborhood center that do this work, but this one really forced me to realize that I could, or people I love could, just as easily be the person who is hungry or without means to buy clothes. That was 15 years ago. I now live hundreds of miles away in Brooklyn, but I send my check up there when I can.
http://www.cameronministries.org/home0.aspx
Review from #MyGivingStory