Missoula Griz Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 was going to the homeless shelter as a family and serving lunch today. My 12 year old son always thinks homeless people are "bums". He watches too much TV. He learned today they are not much different than anyone else. Maybe, just down on their luck, or caused by a bad decision here or there. My 8 year old daughter loved it. She would ask, "Sir, would you like turkey or ham? Maam, you better have some vegtables." This is the first time I have done this. We will definately make this a tradition. My son made his first fruit salad. They just put you to work, with no questions asked. The 3 hours flew by. I went into this experience not knowing what to expect. My son said to me 2 hours into it, "dad, these people are nicer than most". He was correct. You treat them with respect, and they showed their gratitude right back. It gave me a different outlook on the homeless. Have any of you done this as a family or solo before? If not, give it a thought. This is a tough year for many with the problems we are having with the economy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 in hs and college i did a decent amount of volunteer work/community service. very rewarding. much of the meaning of christmas is lost in my opinion......... truely giving is a nice refresher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffraff Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I've done soup kitchens, elderly or low income gift giving, and low income turkey dinner deliveries. Used to volunteer at a youth center as well. Almost always a rewarding experience. Highly recommended to everyone. Puts all my silly troubles into a new perspective. Real good way to help you get over a loss of your own too... Only time I didn't care for it was when seeing individuals with very nice cars or dressed really nice come in for free gifts. They are poor, just spend all their coin on appearance items. Can put a damper on the experience sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 That's pretty cool. Good job as a parent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrograde assault Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 (edited) My wife has done stuff like that for years. Tough times are a product of the human experience then, now and forever. Good for you and you're family for getting out there and doing the good work! Edited December 29, 2008 by Retrograde assault Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebellab Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Our community has a "banquet" every Thursday at a community center in a low income part of town. It is truly amazing how some people survive. It is a real eye opener. My Kiwanis Club takes one of the weeks and we purchase and serve the food as a club. They also ask that you take turns going out and sitting with the people to eat what you have prepared. Someone different does this every week and most like my club do it the same week every year. We serve about 300 meals. Another volunteer opportunity in most communities is delivering meals on wheels. I fill in once or twice a week if I am needed. I am their sub guy when others can't do it. It is often times the only contact that most of these people have all day. Very rewarding and sad at the same time. Instilling the volunteering in your children young will pay dividends for them in the future. Your son has already changed his perception of homeless people which is great. Unfortunately there are fewer parents doing what you did and therefore volunteers are getting harder to come by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missoula Griz Posted December 30, 2008 Author Share Posted December 30, 2008 Our community has a "banquet" every Thursday at a community center in a low income part of town. It is truly amazing how some people survive. It is a real eye opener. My Kiwanis Club takes one of the weeks and we purchase and serve the food as a club. They also ask that you take turns going out and sitting with the people to eat what you have prepared. Someone different does this every week and most like my club do it the same week every year. We serve about 300 meals. Another volunteer opportunity in most communities is delivering meals on wheels. I fill in once or twice a week if I am needed. I am their sub guy when others can't do it. It is often times the only contact that most of these people have all day. Very rewarding and sad at the same time. Instilling the volunteering in your children young will pay dividends for them in the future. Your son has already changed his perception of homeless people which is great. Unfortunately there are fewer parents doing what you did and therefore volunteers are getting harder to come by. I woke on Sunday morning and the first thing I thought of was those people standing in line outside the center waiting for the doors to open so they could warm up and eat. I can not get some of those faces out of my mind. We wake up on Sundays to church and football. It really puts things into perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Very nice, Griz. As a fellow human being, I thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missoula Griz Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 Were set up to do this again next week during thanksgiving and Xmas. The kids are even a little excited about it this year. I am thinking of having them both invite a friend to join along. I cant tell you what an eye opener this is for a family who has food and shelter. Please think about trying an experience like this with friends or family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 the best gift u can give them!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 That's pretty cool. Good job as a parent. Totally agree with this and its giving me the desire to do the same with my kids Well done MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Before the girl came to see us, boy and I used to do some serious time at the local Red Cross shelter. We prob did 100 hours during Katrina and did another 30ish at a local church shelter during Ike. Because the wife works basically every holiday we now have to stay here and keep the girl. In a couple of years we will start again with her in the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 just lastnight my wife and her girls youth group shopped for Thanksgiving food together (120.00 budget) and then delivered it to a home that was on a list....the porch light was on and it was a single mom with 3 kids she was thrilled and had no idea it was gonna happen...... Of course not as they were leaving my wife noticed the address was 5101/2 not 510 it was a rundown duplex so her & the girls piled back in the van picked up food all over again and delivered it to the gal on the list.....Amazing fun night for the girls ta give...they also wanna help out at the soup kitchen now.....Good Stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 My wife took our boys (5 and 2) to give food down at a local soup kitchen. The people there were very thankful, and now my kids are also excited about picking out the toys they don;t really play with anymore so we can give them to needy children who don't have toys, and make room for the inevitable wave of toys from the grandparents for Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonorator Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Very nice, Griz. As a fellow human being, I thank you. +1 have volunteered solo and had similar experiences. most people do not want to be there and they are very grateful that help is out there for them when they need it. great idea doing it with the kids. sometimes it seems that my kids believe you can just go to any of those convenient machines to get more money when you need it ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Well done . . . Every place I work, I challenge the staff to bring in non-perishables before Thanksgiving and then leverage my food vendors to match their donation. I then bring it to a homeless shelter with whatever staff wants to come, and I bring my family and we unload somtimes up to a couple pallets worth of food. really brings everything in perspective and reminds you how to be thankful for everything you have. . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.