LOL at Lunches of Love
- Noella Ukpe-Roberts
- Dec 29, 2016
- 2 min read
Today, I volunteered with an organization called Lunches of Love (LoL). They are a 501(c)3 non-profit community outreach program designed to "show unconditional love to children and their families by providing a free nutritious sack lunch to low income families during extended school holidays and weekends." They were founded in 2009. I had a chance to work with other middle and high school students from several different school districts, making ham sandwiches and filling lunch bags with goodies, like oreo cookies.
I first learned about Lunches of Love from my middle school. With the help of a local church called, The Harvest U.M.C., my middle school distributes lunches and snacks that LoL and the Harvest pack for students on reduced and free lunch. It has really made an incredible difference in the lives of students at my school, so I knew this was the place I wanted to volunteer over the Christmas holiday.
Each time I volunteer, I learn something new about coordinating and managing large scale activities. The coordinators at LoL clearly have done this a long time because they have a very efficient and effective system for volunteers - from sign-up through work stations. Serving food, they also had to abide by local health laws for cleanliness and safety. If we went to the rest room or dropped something and picked it up, for example, we had to completely remove our gloves, aprons and caps, wash our hands for 30 seconds and put on a new set. I had no idea how much work was involved in providing lunches for kids.
In addition, learning to work with and coordinate large groups of people has helped my organization skills and will serve me well in future activities, especially when I run my own business one day.
I feel very humbled knowing that my personal efforts today will impact approximately 400 kids, who otherwise may not have a nutritious meal.
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