I’d always wanted to volunteer for a soup kitchen, so when I realized I had mandatory community service to fulfill, I began my search for a reputable organization. I ended up trekking up to 28th and 9th to Holy Apostle Soup Kitchen one Friday morning, not really knowing what to expect. In the end, my anxiety was unnecessary. As soon as I walked in the door, someone passing by greeted me and pointed me towards the sign-up table. There, one of the administrative staff welcomed me and helped me fill out their forms, and showed me where to store my jacket and bag. He pointed me towards the breakfast stand, where volunteers were milling about, making tea and swiping bagels. I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down by myself at the emptiest table I could find, being my shy self. However, soon after, a couple of people sat down next to me, introducing themselves and talking freely. Their friendliness encouraged me to get to know them, though most of them were middle-aged or elderly. I got to talk to people who lived very differently from the way I was brought up, which I enjoyed. I was assigned to serving vegetables, and there were people guiding me the whole time I volunteered.
At the food line, I was among 8 different people preparing trays of food. I had to scoop a portion of already-cooked vegetables onto each tray and pass it along to the person next in line. I had a chance to talk to the other volunteers, who were veterans at Holy Apostle. Everyone was open to meeting new people. My arms got sore from scooping so many trays, but the whole operation really was a community effort. The most memorable part was meeting John, one of the people we served. The people we served ate in a separate part of the church floor, but after lunch was over, John introduced himself to me. I’m normally very apprehensive about talking to male strangers (haha…), but the atmosphere Holy Apostle fostered encouraged me to let go of that. I found out that he attended a church I’d heard a lot of good things about, and it was nice to enjoy his company in the 15 minutes we spent talking. I really enjoyed volunteering at Holy Apostle and the other volunteers invited me to return. I think I will.
