Service-A-Thon 2013 Part 1: Cooking for 300, Red Cross Care Packages, and St. John's Breadline

Friday was Service-A-Thon. And for those of you who don't know it's an opportunity for students to get involved in service all day, with different projects happening all the time both on and off of campus.  They created care packages for victims of fire and natural disasters with the Red Cross, served food at St. John's Bread Line that they had made the night before, worked at the Habitat for Humanity Restore, and at Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach.

But Service-A-Thon really began on Thursday night when the L4L students all got together to make all of the food for St. John's Breadline.

Yum! Pasta salad and brownies!

For me at least the food prep for St. John's breadline was fantastic because I got to hang out a little bit with some of the L4L-ers and get to know them better over loud music and liking brownie bowls clean, as well as the ever present debate of whether there was enough seasoning in the pasta salad. It was just a great opportunity to work as a team and get things accomplished, and even better knowing that all the food we made was going to a great cause.

The Bluebell Team and their food. Yeah, we made a lot.

There were three teams making the amount we did,
plus a sandwich team. We made enough for 300!

The next day was the big day, we loaded up the van and Doc with food to be shipped over to St. John's Bread Line, where students would be joining it later, and I booked it over to the Red Cross Event where we had two shifts of students (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) who came in and made 400 care packages a shift, that will be sent out all over central Illinois. 

Just look at that teamwork!

Each care package got a washcloth, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a stuffed mickey mouse, deodorant, all the various little things you would need or could give comfort if you suddenly found yourself with nothing. The students also participated in a mock shelter so they could see what it would be like if they found themselves in that kind of a situation. 

Then there was St. John's Breadline, where our students rejoined the food they made the night before and actually got to serve it. They handed out the food they had made, cups of ice (because it was so hot Friday), and talked with the people who came in. 

*insert gratuitous picture of Doc in a hairnet*

 I wasn't at this event, I was at Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, but when Doc told me about it it sounded really interesting. He talked a lot about how people there, while there were some on a very different life path from him, were very much like him. How circumstances outside of their control had gotten in their way and put them in the position they found themselves in, and how if things had worked out for him just a little differently than they did for him he could easily see himself in the same place they were. And I don't know about you, but that really puts things in perspective. 

Ashley talking to a woman who came into the Breadline.

Our Habitat for Humanity Restore event was led by the president of the Habitat for Humanity club on campus, and they went down to the Restore in downtown Springfield to help out. Again, I wasn't there because it was happening at the same time as the Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach event was, but I did hear some interesting stories about it from one of the L4L members, Sophia. She's going to get a mini blog post all to herself later on this week. But it sounds like they had a pretty interesting experience as well. 

The final event was one I went to, the Hospital Sister's Mission Outreach, and yeah, this section might be a little long, but that's just because I know it best. That one is also going to be getting a mini blog post of it's own later on this week. So keep your eyes open for those! 

Until then, if you are interested in more information on what happened during Service-A-Thon you can click the link to be directed to the (more official) Service-A-Thon blog post, which even includes a video with Doc and some of our volunteers talking about their experiences. I highly recommend it! And if you are interested in knowing more about volunteering with any of the organizations I've just talked about, the first time they are mentioned they have a link in their name which will direct you to that organization's webpage for more info! 

-Erika

UIS Vista