by Siyan Chan (Class of 2021)

It was the last day of March that also marked the end of Spring Break, and four students from Developing Virtues Girls School (DVGS) decided to make this last day a meaningful one. As they hopped onto the van and headed off, they knew they had made the right choice of volunteering to pack food for the homeless of the Ukiah community.

The first stop was a restaurant: Asian Buffet. After purchasing several trays of noodles and vegetables, they moved to a corner seat and started packing the food into lunch boxes, then placing them neatly into cardboard boxes to be loaded in the back of the van. As they worked together efficiently, the job was soon completed.

Getting back in the van, they headed off to Safeway, chatting happily on the way there. As they arrived at their final destination, they sat in the van parked under the shade and patiently waited for people to turn up. As expected, people starting to approach the van and they got down and opened the back door, unloading the boxes of food.

Joyously giving nourishes the wholesome sprouts in the young minds.

After ensuring that the people lined up in an orderly manner, the students each stationed themselves at an interval and distributed food, water and utensils respectively while greeting everyone with a smile. It was a heartwarming scene as the students gently handed out the items to each person who came by, exchanging words of kindness and gratitude.

DVGS students serve homeless people as they form a line.

Students gain new perspective about the homeless, as a result of serving food to them.

“I think it is truly wonderful to be able to help those in need, and I’m glad I volunteered to be a part of it,” said freshman Tammy Long. “It was an eye-opening experience for me and it really changed my perspective towards the homeless as I realized many of them are just regular people like us, and their words of appreciation and blessings really touched my heart,” Jasmine Chan, a senior, commented.

On the way back, a question was raised: Would you participate in such kind of volunteer work again in the future? And the answer everyone gave was: a definite YES!