As Victory Hall opened December 19 to receive food donations, South Similkameen Christmas Hamper Fund volunteers welcomed helpful hands.
Steve Cleminson, the activities coordinator at Portage Keremeos, arrived with four young ladies, who were eager to do something meaningful and were happy to volunteer a few hours of their time.
Instructions were given and the teens were shown the various areas to place and stack donated food stuffs, working from a mound of boxes in the centre of the hall and organizing it onto long tables as per the pre-assigned spots. Their infectious vitality and enthusiasm made light work of otherwise exhausting and time consuming work for our two volunteers.
As we all sat around at the end of the day, over snacks and juices, a forum developed. The teens each expressed awe in the whole process of providing for the poor, as they looked around at the enormous amount of food it takes to fill the hampers. One recalled how her mom, with kids in tow, queued in the food banks and how she accepted without shame. Another teen recalled her teacher’s reminder for each student to bring one canned item of food to give to the poor, which she did with little thought of the impact it would have on those who received it. Another spoke of the amount needed to feed the poor and how delighted she was that she had a hand in helping. Lastly, a young lady summed up the conversation with how this field trip turned out to be an opportunity to be part of a larger, more complex system of volunteers providing for the needy.
The realization of how involved the task of gathering and sorting food donations can be and being able to be part of helping made for an unforgettable experience for our young visitors, as well as the SSCHF volunteers at Victory Hall.
Contributed by Rita de La Cruz