Volunteering at St George’s Soup Kitchen
I volunteered at St George’s Soup Kitchen back in the fall of 2007. The volunteer run organization provides a warm meal to those less fortunate. Now back in Halifax, I am happy to return to the familiar faces at St George’s.
Karen, the coordinator of the soup kitchen (white shirt), continues to inspire me. Now in it’s 24th year, Karen has only missed five Saturdays! Completely on her own will, she has volunteered over 1200 Saturdays and served over 200,000 meals to those in need. Karen doesn’t expect a reward for all her dedication and hard work, her motivation comes knowing she’s helped improve the lives of others.
I continue to spend my Saturday afternoons at the soup kitchen for a lot of reasons. One, the volunteer staff are fantastic people, each from a different background, all sharing a common goal to help others. Two, the people coming for food, although most have very little, they are always so grateful and you are always greeted by warm smiles. Three, although it’s only three hours a week, I feel that my time really makes a difference.
In fact, I came to a realization, that those three hours provided more purpose and meaning than the rest of my workweek. This realization has motivated me to change the direction of my career. Moving forward, I plan to focus my time and effort towards nonprofit initiatives seeking social change for the common good.