Washington DC, Mission Work, day 4

Today was the final day of our mission service with YSOP in Washington DC. We started off bright and early this morning, heading off to our two locations. One team headed to DC Central Kitchen which provides more than 4500 meals a day, 365 days per year. Much of the food they prepare comes from donations or purchased at a reduced cost. The rest of the food comes by rescue of surplus from local hotels and restaurants. Once prepared, the food is distributed to shelters, community outreach centers and churches where many people all over the DC metro area are able to eat each day. This morning, our group rinsed and seasoned over 400 pounds of chicken, peeled and chopped about 150 butternut squash, made pans of granola bars and gutted, and scaled over 200 salmon (for those of you who know Alline, she is very glad that was not where she was assigned! :)). Then we all worked to packaged up the food once it was prepared so it could be loaded into vans and delivered for the day.

The other group worked at Thrive DC where individuals and families are offered a variety of services that help stabilize their lives. The hope is that Thrive DC can be a safety net so homelessness can be avoided. Some services available at Thrive DC are breakfast 5 days a week for around 200 people, sandwiches people can take to eat for lunch later in the day, shower facilities, hygiene items, community classes, resume writing assistance, legal services, a community computer lab, laundry, telephone and mail services. In the evening they provide food and services to women and children only through a local domestic abuse shelter. Our group cooked and served breakfast, greeted guests as they arrived, signed guests in for showers and gave them personal care items.

Once both groups wrapped up their work, we went back to the YSOP headquarters for a wrap up discussion. We had a chance to reflect on our week and revisit the goals we set Monday morning. Then we set goals for when we return home. YSOP hopes that the time of service with them will be an encouragement to continue the fight against hunger and homelessness in our home communities. Each of us thought of ways that we can make a difference in Traverse City. In some ways, it is our new understanding and outlook that is life changing.

Now we have a couple more days of site seeing before we head home. In the morning we have our tour of the White House. The cherry blossoms are really beautiful now, they are at their peak blooms. The weather is supposed to warm up a little and the sun should shine for our two tour days.