St. Anthony's Church (Padua Dining Room) Reflection 2 (Vida)

Vida Saffari
September 18th, September 21st, and September 22nd 2017, 10am-11:30am
St. Anthony's Padua Dining Room
Bob Dehn

Supervisor Contact Information: paduadiningroom@gmail.com or 650-365-9664 

I really enjoyed my last 3 visits at St. Anthony's Padua Dining Room and I am very sad that my PACT project has come to an end!

During these last three visits, I did similar activities such as doing work in the kitchen, serving food, and helping organize boxes of necessities. I also helped package lunch boxes that these low income families could take to their homes. These lunch boxes would provide them with food for the next couple days. I really liked how such a simple idea could be so impactful on these individual’s lives. For instance, if a parent was working that entire week and didn’t have enough time to prepare food for their children, these foods could make life much easier on them.

By serving food, I was able to build relationships with the people, especially the ones who came in regularly. One interaction that really stuck to me was one with a teenage girl. She was extremely friendly and kind. She asked me about school and where I attend high school. When I told her that I attended Menlo School, she mentioned that that was one of her top choices for high school and that she would be applying next year. For over 10 minutes we talked and established a really strong connection. Her love of learning and education was extremely inspiring. Despite the challenging times her and her family were facing, she still had so many goals and aspirations. Her determination was uplifting and moving. I am really glad that I met her! 

My service at St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room made me realize how important volunteering is. I loved helping out the other volunteers and becoming a part of their community. It made me smile to see older men and women working there and taking time out of their days to make an impact on the world. I will definitely volunteer at St. Anthony’s again and would recommend it for anyone looking for volunteering opportunities!

St. Anthony's Church (Padau Dining Room) Reflection 1 (Vida)

Vida Saffari
September 9th, September 14th, and September 16th 2017, 10am-11:30am
St. Anthony's Padua Dining Room
Bob Dehn
Supervisor Contact Information: paduadiningroom@gmail.com or 650-365-9664 

These 3 visits at St. Anthony's Padua Dining Room have been short, but extremely impactful. A group of volunteers and I have been able to provide individuals and families who are facing malnutrition and hunger with a clean, healthy meal. 

During these visits, I first started off by helping recycle the boxes of fruits and other foods that were used for each meal. I also aided St. Anthony's by organizing necessities such as toilet paper, feminine products, shampoos/body washes, and many others into compartments. These necessities would then be provided to low income individuals and families who needed them in the future. Through this process, I realized that I take for granted many of the basic aspects of my life such as having shampoo to wash my hair everyday. I loved the fact that St. Anthony's provided low income individuals with these commodities in addition to meals. 

For the rest of my visits, I helped out mostly in the kitchen. I helped prepare certain dishes, cut up slices of cake, and washed fruits and vegetables. After kitchen work, I was able to step out and serve the individuals. This was an extremely rewarding experience. It didn't take much time to prepare the food, but the impact that it made on these people was delighting. It was amazing how each individual took the time to thank me for serving them a meal and spoke about how delicious it was. Even though these individuals were facing challenging times, they still stayed positive, smiled, and remembered what they are grateful for. These are all things that I forget to do in my daily life as a privileged individual. I sometimes even forget to thank my parents for providing me with the basic necessities of life such as serving me healthy, nutritious meals. 

Watching the families smile and spend time together talking over a meal, made me realize how important breakfast, lunch, and dinner time are. Not only is it a time to give the body the food it needs, but it is also a time of connecting with the people around you and engaging in interesting conversations. I loved the sense of community that was built at St. Anthony's and it felt amazing to be a part of it.