A Change of Heart by Katherine

A Change of Heart by Katherine - May 2018 Scholarship Essay

How often do we pass by people in need of compassion, empathy, a simple hello? We spend so much time on our lives and our own troubles, and sometimes we forget how easy it is to be able to make someone else's day a bit easier. Due to this, I chose to help prepare food for the homeless for the Prince of Peace Church PADS and it was an eye opening experience.

One of my tasks every day was to cut donuts and bread into small enough serving sizes for guests to either take or eat for breakfast. On the first day, it amazed me that so much food had to be set up; I didn't realize how many homeless people actually lived near me. I realized how lucky I am to have food on my table every day and a roof to live under. My LCAP experience made me more grateful what I have.

PADS also taught me about working well with others. At church, I typically worked the shift from 6:30 to 9:30 pm with other volunteers; we were able to get plenty of work done through our teamwork. I was good at quickly cutting the food up into smaller portions, so another volunteer would bring the containers of food to me and wrap up the trays for me so I wouldn't have to stop my routine. Our collaboration made volunteering run smoothly and quickly. Towards the end of my time volunteering, we would often times finish early and were able to also help people who volunteered during other shifts by preparing lunches too.

Additionally, PADS also showed me the difference between people who have nothing and others who are selfish. Since I serve food at both PADS and Riccardo’s, I often compared how I was treated between the two settings. At PADS, most guests thanked me for my time and appreciated any food that we offered, even if it wasn’t exactly what they wanted. However, at my job, customers can be very picky and rude. It was shocking to see how someone who is living such a hard life could be so kind whereas people who are much better off typically just want more.

Overall, my experiences with Prince of Peace PADS has taught me to be more grateful about things that I don't usually think about and how to work with others.