In spirit of the holidays, 18 students volunteered their time at the Oakbrook Terrace Corps of the Salvation Army on Saturday December 12, 2009. The students helped sort through food donations and create boxes of food to be distributed locally to both families in need and homeless shelters.Some students during the sorting process were disappointed to see the quality of the food that had been donated. Volunteer Noelle Sereis said that “the food that is donated to food pantries is not uncommonly cheap, expired or damaged in some way”, which makes the sorting of the food an important part of the process of creating the meal boxes. Although the incoming donations may not have all been of the best quality, after a few hours of work the students were able to assemble many boxes of food to make the holidays a little better for local families and shelters.
The Salvation Army does a lot more than just collect and distribute food. They also support actions against human trafficking, hold youth camps, assist the elderly, families of prisoners and promote many other charitable programs. Although only one section of The Salvation Army’s mission, food collection and distribution is one of the staple programs during the holiday season, making the time volunteered by students all the more valuable in keeping this tradition of giving going.
For more information on the Salvation Army please visit:
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf/vw-local/Home
