Jenny - Atlanta Center for Self-Sufficiency - Blog Post 1

The car trip was very long. Thirteen hours was ample time to get to know one another as well as discuss in depth our reasons for attending. We bonded over the fact that a commonly asked question was why we were traveling to help people rather than helping people in our own town. While our reasons ranged from seeking exposure to new things and places to learning from organizations different than those in Lawrence, we were all in agreement that fully committing and emerging ourselves in an organization for a week would be very different from volunteering around town.

As we pulled up to the church, there was a large banner with the words "Love" and "Acceptance" in boldface type. We immediately knew that our lodging would be the perfect accompaniment to our growth experience working at The Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency. We were introduced to the church's core values and given a schedule of congregation members who were excited to host us for dinner. Linda, our friendly greeter, explained that this church heavily served the LGBT community.

Going into Day 2, we knew we would be serving the general public at Café 458, a practice they do in order to raise funds to keep in operation. We headed out the door at 8:00, in blue jeans and black shirts, ready to serve!

As we drove to the site, and under every bridge we passed, we saw people sleeping on the ground. One bridge even had lines of sleeping bags and garbage bags full of belongings. It quickly became clear that Lawrence had a very minute homeless problem compared to Atlanta.

After a somber drive, it was a quick change in pace. Volunteering was a blast! I've always wanted to be a waitress so it was so much fun to experience that and for such a good cause. It was amazing to educate patrons walk in who had never even heard of Café 458 and assumed it was just another restaurant. We worked extra hard for tips as the profits from today were crucial for supporting the Café for the rest of the week.

Although we didn't interact with the homeless population, it was really cool to talk with the regular volunteers who also so deeply cared for the cause. It gave me a new prospective on volunteerism to see people with very busy careers continue to give to their community. One volunteer marketed actors, traveled to 48 countries, made movies, and made amazing food. People like him make it seem more possible to be a life-long volunteer.

Seeing how Café 458 was so efficiently managed and bases on such a creative idea reminded me of how creative nonprofit organizations can be in order to me the needs of their community. I am so excited to grow and learn about this issues and the creative ways people are thinking up to help. Often homeless individuals are seen as either a threat or solely a charity case. Café 458 works to feed those in need while maintaining the respect the individuals deserve. I think a lot of nonprofits could learn from Café 458's creative approach and mindful priorities.