Faith story shared by Christopher Hickey
Good morning, I’m Christopher Hickey and I’d like to share with you the story of last year’s Community Food Packing Event that we held here at the church and see if I can encourage you to sign up for this year’s event on September 16.
I really didn’t know what to expect when I showed up as a volunteer. I did first notice that there were over 150 folks there ready to contribute. Folks from our church, folks from the Ezher Bloom Mosque and lots of others from all over Alexandria and Arlington.
I started as a floater but quickly saw the event needed someone to manage the boxes! The empty ones that had contained the food fixings were quickly piling up. So we started breaking them down. Then we added the service of picking up empty boxes from the assembly line tables. Then the real rewarding part, was sealing up the full boxes of food packets and moving them to the truck outside.
My biggest comrades in this effort turned out to be a group of kids from the mosque. I worked hard to find something of value for all of them to do with our box management problem.
Working with the boxes allowed me to see the whole operation. Teams of people at long tables mixing the ingredients, packing and sealing the food packages. They were good at that! When it was all over we had packed over 20,000 food packages in 2 hours! That is an impressive number. These meals were then delivered to Alive! and Ezher Bloom Mosque to feed local families in need. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
So what are you doing on September 16th between 3:00-5:00?
On September 16th, we are hosting the Community Food Packing Event here at Good Shepherd with the help of our friends from Ezher Bloom Mosque in Fairfax.
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
First, we need Team Leads to help our core group plan and run the event. There is a sign-up sheet in the back for this.
We also need 190 people, in two shifts from either 3:00-4:00 or 4:00-5:00, to participate in order for this to equal the success of last year’s event. It is very simple and you will get trained before you begin. After your shift, we’ll have light refreshments and a chance to socialize.
You can sign up to Volunteer on Good Shepherd’s Facebook page or through the link in the weekly church newsletter, or on a sign-up sheet in the back.
Please invite your friends and family to volunteer too!
Everyone can do this! Children through seniors!
2 hours + 190 volunteers= 20,000 meals for hungry Northern Virginians while building connections and relationships that strengthen our community.
Please Join Us.
A Sacred Space 