I had an amazing opportunity to volunteer at the Salvation Army building on 4th Street, San Jose. The Salvation Army was founded by General William Booth and started in 1865. Since then it has grown to almost 1,150,666 members. It runs through the Protestant Church and they believe in the Holiness Movement. As of currently its headquarters is in London and they can be located in 127 different countries. The reasoning of its name is because it consists of officers, soldiers and adherents who are known as Salvationists. This means to bring salvation to those in need and to the poor.
This organization caught my attention and was recommended to me by a church member. I am Mormon and we, as a church, do a lot of volunteer work. We help with grape vineyards and yard work for those who need the help. I asked one of the members of my church where it would be most helpful to volunteer for an organization that helps with food. He recommended the Salvation Army, because he believes they put to good use the money that is donated to them. Another reason is the Salvation Army runs as a church and hold Sunday meetings.
The Salvation Army does more than elp with hunger, but they also support adults for rehabilitation, housing and homeless services, veteran’s affairs and elderly services. The donated money to the Salvation Army is used to help with each of these services. You can help donate money or give away items like clothes, furniture, and other household items. The Salvation Army does a wonderful job at trying to make things easier for those who are struggling and feed those who are hungry. I ended up contacting the Salvation Army and getting an interview right away.
They seemed very keen in bringing me in as soon as they could. My interview was the day after I called and they showed me around the building. The staff members seemed really nice, but they looked like they were very low on volunteers. I told my supervisor, Ken, that I could only work Fridays, since I worked most of the week at my job. He was understanding and asked if I could pull long volunteer shifts, which I agreed to. My first day volunteering was September 15, 2015 and I was not expecting the day to be busy. I was pulling a six hour shift and I came in at eight in the morning.
When I got there, it was only a young girl about my age and I. My supervisor as there with another man his age hauling food out of a truck that got there around the time I did. What I was supposed to do was put food together in a bag. They were very specific about how much food went into each bag. I had to count how many food cans and granola bars went into the bag, and then dump as much extra foods I could until the bag was almost overflowing. I was told extra foods were items like cookies, cakes, cupcakes, donuts, and other sweats.
The first few hours where fairly slow as the girl and I put bags together, while the men were outside hauling the foods out of the truck. I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to show up. The Salvation Army makes volunteers put grocery bags together and help pass them out to those who come by and apply for groceries. Once they have been approved they come over to another window and make a line, which the bags of food are then passed out. It wasn’t until twelve in the afternoon that a lot of people started to show up.
Soon, I was rushing to make bags, passing them out and making sure the people stayed in line. I did not realize how many people would have showed that day just for food. At lunch break, I was told that they usually get egulars at the Salvation Army and a lot of people depend on them to get food. Around the holidays is usually when they need the most help and ask for more volunteers to come out. Yet, the Salvation Army does not get many volunteers because of how much work there is to do. This made me realize how important it is for people to come out and support organizations.
We also need to volunteer when possible, because they truly are going out making sure people are getting food. Even with almost no volunteers, they are still managing to pull through and feed all the people that come on the daily for them. Therefore, it is good to tell friends and family about how important it is to help volunteer, even if it’s only for a few hours. On the next Friday I was there, I pulled another six hour shift and had to be there at eight in the morning again. Only this time I was the only one making bags.
Therefore, I really had to hustle to count and put food in bags before twelve o’clock. Since, I did not have the support of another volunteer I had to manage both making bags and passing them out. On my second day there, I noticed the majority of the people to come grab food seemed very lowly. There were a lot of people in the Asian community coming by and speaking little to no English. I did not see young people or even middle aged people. They were mostly elders coming by and trying to grab a grocery bag and whatever food came out of the truck.
I learned that the truck that day came from Safeway and the food was given to us because they had expired. I found this to be a smart idea that food was transferred to the Salvation Army instead of sending it elsewhere to sell it for cheap. Even if some of the food was expired, the people ended up grabbing almost everything that ame off that truck. At the end of my shift I really felt humble and good that I ould help. They asked me if I would come back again to help, because they really appreciated it.
It would mean a lot to them if I did. I told myself I would when I could find the time. Since, the holidays are here, I will definitely go back and see what I can do to help. I have a better understanding about what it means to put in your time to volunteer for something that could help someone else. The Salvation Army is a very good organization that helps the families and individuals who struggle to feed themselves. More than 48. 8 million people either are hungry or close to starvation every day.
I have learned in nutrition class that hunger is not always correlated with famine or starvation. It could mean people who are struggling to eat or those who are undernourished, because they can’t find the means to eat healthy. The number one reason of hunger is poverty and powerlessness. Only the rich really benefit because the political system is corrupt. Therefore, anyone who is not rich ends up struggling to feed themselves and their families. In conclusion, volunteering is an important action that anyone an do.
The Salvation Army is not the only organization that asks for volunteers. There are many others that ask for your time to make food and pass it out. Sometimes the Salvation Army actually goes out and makes special grocery deliveries for those who can’t pick up their food. I personally have grown from this experience and intend to put in more of my time in for the coming holidays. People go hungry every day and many more struggle to eat. Until we have a better political system that distributes food better, we will continue to have many families left unfed.