Mandy: PB&Js for New York's Homeless

     Today's service wasn't structured.  We didn't go to a specific location and helped out whoever showed up, but instead took the initiative to service people ourselves.  The group bought and made lunch bags with  PB&J sandwiches and fruit, along with writing hopeful messages on the bags themselves with messages like, "Never Give Up."  We thought that this was a great way to cheer up anyone's day.  Around twelve we set off to Port Authority, Grand Central Station, and Penn Station to give out 100 of these bags.  Seeing the receiver's read the messages and eat the food really impacted me.  These people were not expecting kindness from random people.  They did not go to a soup kitchen expecting a meal, but instead were surprised by strangers.  These people were generally thankful and happy for us providing a meal.

    Performing this type of service allowed me to get a better understanding and appreciation for kind strangers who just do nice things for others, without incentive.  By seeing the surprise and thankfulness on each person's face when receiving a bag, made me feel better.    For instance, maybe some of these people cannot get to a soup kitchen or do not know where any are.  By going out to places where the homeless gather, I can help out others who maybe cannot help themselves, or just take the burden off of them.  Instead of them worrying about how to get food, me giving them food will let them worry less, making everyone happier.

Joelle's reflection: out and about in NYC

The past two days have been very different from our first day of service in New York. The first day we we're giving food to shelters and working through a known organization. But yesterday and today we went out on our own to feed the homeless and do random acts of kindness. We didn't go through any organization, it was just us and the people we were serving. I think that going out on our own really helped me look at serving in a different perspective. We didn't need anyone to give us directions or show us what to do. We were able to make our own decisions on who we wanted to serve and it made it feel much more personal. It made me think of our community in a different way. Serving is not about poor people or homeless people or people in third world countries. Serving is about making a guy in a suit smile because you bought his coffee at Starbucks. Serving is about the surprised look on a woman's face when you hand her a flower and an encouraging note. Serving is about doing the unexpected. Because when we do the unexpected it causes others to think. They wonder why we are doing what we are doing, they become curious. Sparking curiosity in others by serving could push them to go out and serve. It's amazing to think that something we did might have changed someone's perspective on serving and changed someone's perspective on the world. 

Evatt Holmstrom

Honors ASB Blog #2

Over the last couple of days, our group leaders took it upon themselves to create an impromptu community service project due to the fact the original plans fell through the cracks and, we were left with nothing to do. So, as a result, we decided that we would walk the streets of Manhattan and perform random acts of kindness.It was pretty eventful. I gave money to various people and a homeless shelter while walking along Times Square and performed the usual good Samaritan duties such as holding doors open for people et cetera. After a day of good deeds, the next day was filled with food distribution activities. The whole group made sack lunches with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a piece of fresh fruit in each one, we handed all of them out to homeless people in multiple transportation hubs throughout the city. It was a very busy, yet very rewarding last couple of days.

2 Days of Adventure-Serving

Plans change and sometimes things don't work out, so it is important to always be willing to make adjustments to your agenda. Yesterday was a day of adventure and serving. Each group was allowed to choose an area to explore while performing random acts of kindness. Our group decided to hit up Time Square. We walked through the hustle and bustle of New York City's core while finding ways to contribute to the people in the area. We let people go ahead of us in line, gave money and food to the homeless, and a couple of other small acts that we all know made a difference, even as tiny as it was, to someone's life. Today, we all made assembly lines and put together our own sacked lunches. As you can see above, the brown bags were decorated with phrases and quotes that would hopefully make the receivers smile. We went to several different transportation stations to hand out the food. It proved to be kind of difficult to find people. I really enjoyed being directly involved with the distribution. These people are not expecting to receive anything, so it is a kind surprise to them that hopefully made them feel something for a little while.  Being able to see their reactions firsthand holds much more meaning to me than having an indirect involvement with a cause.

Rachael

PhilaU Outreach

Today, we packed lunches with a peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruits, muffins, and orange juice to distribute to the homeless in the Port Authority, Grand Central Terminal, and Penn Station. It was fun making, preparing, and bagging the lunches - it didn't even seem like work. We also wrote inspirational quotes and sayings on the bagged lunches like "Stay positive", "Keep your head up", or "Keep smiling". I really liked doing this kind of service because it felt very casual and I was able to work closely with other members of the group.

After we finished preparing the bagged lunches, we went around distributing them to homeless and other people in need. The people that did accept the bagged lunches were very grateful. They had huge smiles on their faces and kept thanking us, sometimes calling us miracles. Other people didn't accept the bagged lunches, which is something I didn't really expect and didn't know how to respond to. When it happened, my group members and I just said "Okay, well have a nice day!" but it bothered me that these people didn't want our help when we were willing and able to help. I guess it could have been a matter of trust or a matter of pride, but nevertheless I felt frustrated. Even though there were one or two people that didn't accept the lunches, the people that did seemed unbelievably happy and that was more than enough for me.

-Kimberly

Spread a Smile

Yesterday since we were unable to go to the soup kitchen we decided to walk around the city doing random acts of kindness, such as opening doors for people, giving food/money to the homeless, and handing out flowers (ah! so beautiful!). It was a very fun and rewarding experience, being able to bring a smile to someone's face with just the smallest gestures.

Today, we decided to continue our "Operation Smile" if you will, by making 70 odd bagged lunches to pass out to the homeless. We traveled to the Port Authority, Grand Central Station, and Penn Station in search of hungry homeless to feed. It was rather amusing, because at the Port Authority after one person knew we were handing out bagged lunches the homeless seemed to just find us; people who we had looked for for 30 minutes just appeared out of nowhere looking for sandwiches. However, in the opposite end of the spectrum, there were people who refused our sandwiches, which to me was rather shocking. I always was under the impression that the homeless would take almost anything people were willing to give them. It really humanized them to see that they still retained their wants and likes as well as needs even though they were homeless.
--Amy Robinson

Monika's Moments: Random Acts Of Kindness

Sunday we were sent into the city to do random acts of kindness. I chose to tell people on the street to have a great day as I passed them. I noticed that even if the person was looking right at me they wouldn't even crack a smile or say anything back. They literally looked at me like I had 5 heads. I guess it goes to show that people don't usually get random gestures thrown their way as often as they should. I know the task was to try and make someone else's day a little brighter, but I don't think anyone benefited. But even if at least one person smiled after I passed them, that's worth something. It was still a great day and I had a lot of fun in Times Square.

-- Monika