Service Learning Project St. Vincent de Paul By: Trevor Ockey

My service project My friends and I from my local singles ward planned a service opportunity at St. Vincent de Paul where we served food to the homeless.

Who did I work with I worked with many people in my ward including… Craig and Susan Pendleton David “ Papa Bear”- Head of Dining Hall Staff Rachelle Gotberg Steve Ratcliff Nate Michelson Preston Stelter

When? And Where? When? July 12, 2015 Where? -745 300 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84102

What took place? We spent the good portion of 2 hours providing food and dessert for the needy in the downtown area, as well as cleaned up the dining hall.

Why I chose this specific activity I chose to do service for the homeless for a couple reasons… Craig and Susan have done this sort of thing every 4 months or so and love the experiences they have every time they go. I take what I have for granted very often and I knew it would be a great opportunity to give back I have never done service there and I knew it was a kind of service that everyone needs to experience at least once if not more in their life.

What I did We were able to reserve a big group slot in for the night where we had 25-30 of our friends in the neighborhood help serve food. Every Sunday previous we made a reminder announcement to come and join us. Craig and I were in charge of ushering the exit door to give everyone a happy goodbye as well as make sure no one was coming into the building through the back doors, but walked around through the entrance. I really appreciated standing by the exit doors because I was able to observe how people left. Many who left gave a happy smile and a grateful thank you. Others tried hard to completely ignore us mostly because of shame. One old dirty man with a scruffy beard would salute us as he left. Craig (who served in the marines) told me that his salute was perfect, letting us know that he was a true Veteran who now appears to live on the streets. Those who tried to come in from the back would also have different reactions when we informed them to go around. Either they were un-complain-tent and walked around, argued a little until they saw Craigs size haha, or they were looking for a friend and asked if we could help. I liked the opportunity to go help find someone they needed.

What I learned Preparing for activities or events you need to send constant reminders in order to have a successful turnout. What I would do next time is make flyers as well as a sign up sheet. What I learned from this experience is that I do take things I have for granted. This computer I am typing on is my own for example. I also was able to understand true humility and also true gratitude from others. Even though many of these people come to this dining hall often and see new people every meal, they always give a sincere thank you and appreciation.

Would I do it again? I would happily do it again, as long as I make the effort to reserve a time slot on their calendar the hardest thing at that point is commuting to the building. If anyone hasn’t done this, I highly recommend it. It is easy, cheap and very fulfilling.

Thank You