Today I woke up early morning, got ready to go to the city. Packed lunches, made breakfast and took a train. As my company’s Culture ambassador, I had organised a volunteer event for my workmates with The Salvation Army. Salvos runs a place called ‘Sydney Street Level Mission’ and they were more than happy to have corporate teams volunteer with them. This place opens up to the community members who need food and basic necessities. They cook lunch every day for people who are homeless or undergoing financial stress or dealing with addiction or anyone who is having it rough.
Our CEO joined us too and we were a team of 5 people who participated. We were briefed about our tasks in the morning. Two of us were assigned to look after the coffee cart, where we had to make a beverage for anyone who asked for it. One of us was put in charge of barbecue. Rest of the two went into the kitchen to help the chef prepare lunch. They served free meals on Thursdays and charged $2 on other days. About 50-60 people were expected and so they did show up as well.
K and I were at the coffee cart initially and we had a constant inflow of people. K was asked to help in the kitchen soon and I was alone at the coffee cart for most part of it. We had diverse variety of guests coming in. It was heartbreaking to see some of them. I did manage to strike a conversation with some of them. Some seemed to be under the influence of substance or alcohol and appeared withdrawn. But overall, it was a great experience.
The coffee cart closed at 11:30am. And then I went into the kitchen to help with the lunch prep. It was like a high pressure restaurant kitchen. We had to serve lunch by 12noon. And the dining hall was already filled with guests. We had to plate up and start serving very soon. On the menu was – sausages, charcoal chicken, potato salad and trifle pudding. The chef also made me cook a small quantity of fried rice for vegetarians.
People seemed to enjoy their meal. It was heartwarming to see them eat all with dignity. They were served in beautiful plates with proper cutlery and serviettes. Some of them also took takeaway. After lunch was served and guests had left, we washed, dried and put away all the dishes, plates and cutleries. Cleaned the kitchen thoroughly, swept and mopped the floor.
It was a memorable experience overall. Because our team was there to help, the staff could focus on their pending admin tasks or things that they don’t usually get time to do. They were all super friendly and made our day with their hospitality and kept thanking us for choosing to help them.
The centre not only provides food but also other basic facilities like shower, clothes, washing machine, hairdresser, JP, English courses, access to computer and internet, TV and news among others. They have an open door policy and help the community in so many ways and it is all funded by donations. It’s amazing what a great job they were doing.
This experience also made me acknowledge the privileged life that we lead and how grateful we should be for everything that we have. It felt amazing to be able to give back in the smallest way to community 😇
Filing under 32/100 days of happiness!
Anecdotes of Two-riffic Twins 