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Raising Funds and Food

For about a year now, I've been helping out a Philadelphia soup kitchen called Grace Cafe. It's run by the Arch Street United Methodist Church in central Philly. I found out about it through a Philadelphia volunteering website. I was hooked on it from the first time I went. They give out around 200 meals every Sunday to those who need it. They are entirely donation-funded and volunteer run. Usually I go and do dishes there, but I realized I could help more by fundraising to buy ingredients and then actually make the dinner. So that's what I did; twice, in fact! In May 2015 and then November 2015, my friends and I raised funds through social media to pay for all the ingredients need to make 200 dinners. A few friends and I helped to make the dinner, serve, and clean up, too. I've come to feel like the other volunteers there are an extended family. I'm accepted there even though I'm not part of their church. We're united by the purpose of helping our community. I still am there as many Sundays as I can make it, and I'm planning to fund/make another dinner for them in April.

http://archstreetumc.org/what-we-do/ministry/grace-cafe/

2 Comments

APRIL 6, 2023
Beautiful, simply wonderful! Thank you for doing this. What a gift, not only to those you serve, but to yourself, as well.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2020
this is the best story I've ever read

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