Sometimes it’s hard to do something with no reward, to give your time and get nothing in return. To some, volunteer work can seem like a tedious task with little to no purpose. What’s the point of spending my afternoon handing out groceries to people I don’t know when I could be spending it doing something fun or something for myself. Well to me, volunteering is something you can benefit from if you choose to. You’re not only giving back to people who are less fortunate; you’re being selfless, and lending a hand to those in need. You’re gaining purpose in this world.
On Friday, I got the privilege of being a part of one of the many Dream Center outreaches, the food truck, an outreach that was started by Pastor Matthew’s wife, Caroline Barnett. With the purpose of providing groceries for those families living in neighborhoods that are below the poverty line. Now the food truck goes out all over Los Angeles, and feeds over 32,000 people in over 9,000 families a month.
For me being a part of something so great makes me feel special, just knowing that what I’m doing actually helps families, truly impacts me. Seeing all the people in line receiving their groceries then leaving with big smiles on their faces touches my heart.
Oh this particular day we went out to one of our sites that’s located at 5th and Union. The team arrives to a crowd that has already assembled. But before we can start passing out groceries we must first put together the bags. It’s such a beautiful sight; everyone is assigned to a job, and as soon as they were finished they eagerly asked “What do you need me to do now?”
It’s not only the volunteers that are so eager to help- it’s the community as well. The crowd that came for a soul purpose of receiving food caught a hold of the helping spirit and now are asking how they can help us. Before you realize it, the jobs are all done. The food is all bagged and all that is left to do is to distribute the bags of grocery to the community.
And it’s not just food that we are bringing to these families, it’s hope, and the love of Christ we’re showing them. Our actions are speaking loud and they’re saying “We see your needs and since we love you like the Father does we want to meet that need the best possible way we can.”
To me, volunteering is more than a tedious task I force myself or am forced to do, it’s empowering. If you can truly grab a hold of a selfless nature while volunteering you will in fact receive a reward. A reward that is only granted to those who have the right intention behind their actions, whose heart isn’t after anything, but is there with the purpose of showing love to people.
-Briana-Leigh
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