Make a Difference Day is this Saturday, but at Sr. Paula Delgrosso’s St. Vincent dePaul Food For Families Soup Kitchen in Altoona, PA, that is the spirit every day – five days per week year round.
Giving of your time or resources, in volunteer work, is primarily for the benefit of people who need the help. However, the volunteer also receives some healthy benefits: emotionally, mentally, and physically. In a study carried out at Purdue University, it was found that regular volunteers have better cardiovascular health as well as lower blood pressure than their non-volunteering counterparts. Significantly, they also had fewer signs of depression. It’s a great feeling when you see that what you’re helping with is making a difference.
A special thanks to Sr. Paula and all the folks at the Food for Families Soup Kitchen for taking the time to talk with us today.
We came away with the conviction that donations in action are what makes this soup kitchen so successful, even in tough economic times like we are experiencing now. The volunteers that come in to prepare and serve the food can see first hand the need for this service. Individuals and businesses that donate resources may visit to serve a meal, and they will see that there is absolutely no waste here. People only take what they will eat, and if they don’t finish their food at the meal, they take it home in cups that are donated by a local business. Empty trays are returned for cleaning by grateful folks who enjoyed a hot meal.