Day 4

Hey everyone! This is Brooklyn here.

Today we, the 502, served with Salvation Army at their largest site in Louisville, KY. This organization makes a significant difference within the Louisville community by providing meals and shelters to those in need, in addition to their better known fundraiser where they ring bells outside most stores.

We spent the day cleaning out transitional housing apartments and organizing clothes.

One of the things that stuck with me the most throughout the day was hearing about the strong demand for their services by the community. During the winter season, the line for food will wrap all the way around the building. This made me feel guilty for how much privilege that I have and how little that I have done with that privilege to help those less fortunate than me. I realized that I have been by living my life in my own little bubble and not thinking about the daily realities of those in the communities surrounding me. After learning about the strong need for volunteers during the holiday season, I definitely want to volunteer here next holiday season!

Hello, this is Theresa.

I spent most of the day organizing the clothes that the Salvation Army distributes to the needy within the Louisville community. During the day, we sorted and repacked around thirty large boxes of clothing. Throughout our trip, we have distinguished between direct service (involving contact with the people we’re serving) and indirect service (behind the scenes work).  Our work at the Salvation Army was primarily indirect service, which many organizations have highlighted is just as important as direct service. However, several of the people in our group discussed the fact that direct service in some ways feels more rewarding even though both types of service are equally beneficial to the organization being served. Today’s service relates to our trip theme of Wealth Distribution Awareness because the Salvation Army relies primarily on volunteers in order to keep their shelter running (only 28 staff are employed full-time to run five facilities throughout Louisville), and they in turn serve meals to 300-500 hungry people within the community and offer shelter to several hundred other people each day.