Reaching out to those in need

A team of college kids wakes up before sunrise to prepare for the day. Breakfast is served at a local church and then they’re off to work. Soon, you can hear the sound of hammers pounding on a roof; kids laughing as they run into each other’s linked arms, playing red rover; a relieved sigh as a client walks out of the thrift store with bags of free food and clothing. These are just a few sounds you would hear if you spent twelve weeks at Appalachian Outreach, an organization located in the Appalachian Mountains of Jefferson City, Tennessee.

Appalachian Outreach was founded in 1984 in association with Carson-Newman College. From its beginning as a home repair organization, it has expanded to serve people who are in need of food, clothing, linens and household items. An estimated 600 clients came in and out of Appalachian Outreach in June 2009.

In order to help these 600 clients plus the home repair clients, Appalachian Outreach hires college students to work for twelve weeks. Some students are from Tennessee’s Carson-Newman, and others come from states such as Illinois and Mississippi. Many of them work on home repair projects for the summer, including roofing, tiling and landscape.

Michelle Shackleford, then a Southern Missouri student who has since transferred to Carson-Newman student, didn’t know much about home repair but was excited to learn. She wanted to make an impact on someone’s life. “I was given more opportunities to love people as they are, as we were in their homes and spending more time with them, getting to know and love them as people,” Shackleford says.

Delicious Food, a Worthy Cause and Good People

Photos | Krista Reynolds with Never Missa Moment Photography

A few months ago I began volunteering at People Serving People (PSP), a local homeless shelter for families in Minnesota. I started in the children’s library reading books and coloring and then moved to tutoring and playing house with five-year-olds. All of my volunteering experiences at PSP have been great, especially the unusual one I just took part in.

I recently spent a Monday night serving guests in PSP’s dining hall. Chefs for Change is a monthly event that invites the public to an elegant dinner hosted by top chefs from the Twin Cities. Thirty to 40 guests enjoy a five course meal and wine pairings. The restaurants donate everything from the meal, including recipes for guests to take home. This generosity allows PSP to receive 100 percent of the proceeds.

If you are unable to afford a place at the table, you can take part by volunteering. As a recent college grad, I decided this was my best option. I arrived at the shelter two hours before the dinner and was warmly welcomed by veteran volunteers. After introductions we all set to work and transformed the dining hall into an intimate setting.

Seven The Steakhouse soon joined us and filled the kitchen with their plates, ingredients and delicious smells. Executive chef Andre Smith and executive sushi chef Devane Sumontha gladly introduced their menus to the volunteers, and made sure we knew what we would be serving. The chefs also chose a few volunteers to be their assistant in the kitchen.

I jumped at the chance to work next to a top chef! Chef Devane needed help plating his sushi masterpieces and asked for my help. After a demonstration, two other volunteers and I were intensely focused on the art of sushi. Twenty minutes later we had assembled 40 Japanese salads and 40 salmon roll dishes.

In between prepping and serving I spoke with Seven’s Wendy Schallock about the restaurant’s involvement. Upon learning about PSP’s Chefs for Change dinners, Wendy knew that Seven had to get involved. “Our owners are from Minneapolis, and everything that we do is within the city. … And both of the chefs are happy to do this on their night off.”

Knowing that the chefs were cooking on their only night off, I had to speak with them. Smith was happy to donate his time. He said, “This is such a worthy cause. [PSP] is an organization that deserves of a lot of praise and I’m sure things will work out for people who have this type of assistance. I’m glad I could participate. … Hopefully I’ll be able to do it again, and as well as the food I’ll do the music, I play the saxophone and piano.” Sumontha told me that this was his first time volunteering and it was a great experience; he too hopes to participate in Chefs for Change again.

Volunteer Andrea LaChapelle feels the same way: “I think it’s a great thing to contribute to. I can’t necessarily afford to buy the meals, but I can definitely volunteer. I get to try the food, it’s for a good cause and I get to meet new people.” She has participated four times already.

To volunteer or purchase a ticket for dinner, or if you are chef interested in hosting Chefs for Change, contact Amy Jenkins at 612.277.0221 or
ajenkins@peopleservingpeople.org.

People Serving People
www.jdc.org

Striving Toward Change

Posted by Anthony Wald



Give Us Wings is celebrating its 10-year anniversary of humanitarian work in Kenya and Uganda. This grassroots organization’s success hinges on the relationship that it has developed with the people of Kenya and Uganda. From listening to people describe their lives and their needs, GUW evolved into an organization that restores and builds houses, started a clinic, and helps provide 20,000 people with clean water. Impressive accomplishments for an organization that grew out of listening to stories of struggle.

The events that led to its founding began in 1998 when Mary Steiner, now the director of Give Us Wings, volunteered in eastern Africa. After completing her volunteer commitment, Mary stayed in Africa to develop a book about behavior guidance for school-age children in the US. The story shifted when a local boy, Abdul, asked what she was writing about. She told him, and he said, “Why not write about children here?” Mary responded, “I don’t know anything about children here, but write me your story and maybe I will.” Upon reading Abdul’s story she was struck by his directness. She says, “Bam it hit me—this is what poverty looks like.”

Mary decided to compile a book of narratives about living with poverty. She explains, “The intense need and poverty in Africa can be overwhelming, but once people hear these stories, they’ll get it, they’ll respond.” Finding people willing to tell their stories was easy. “I just started doing this trust dance with people. Letting them know I was collecting stories,” she says. “I had no money to give them, and people just started lining up.”