The air was filled with the smell of a holiday-style meal and the sounds of Christmas carols Friday afternoon as the Caledonia Middle School Beta Club, along with members of Broadacres United Methodist Church and Central United Methodist Church, served food at Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen in Columbus.
Around 160 people lined up to partake of the meal — ham, black-eyed peas, mashed potatoes, rolls and Christmas cake.
The soup kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry and homeless on Mondays and Fridays with area churches providing the food and other service organizations helping serve it.
This was the Beta Club’s first service project of the year, and club sponsor Angie Dees said it was a good experience for the 38 eighth-graders who participated. They have spent the past few weeks collecting coats for Loaves and Fishes patrons and making goody bags of snacks for them.
“We came last year, and it was great for the kids,” Dees said. “They got to get out of their comfort zone, meet new people and serve.”
She said some of the students were apprehensive beforehand, but they talked about volunteering and the fears quickly dissipated.
“You’ve just got to give them a little push, and then they go for it,” Dees said.
Cassie Oberman, 13, said she was nervous at first, because she didn’t have much experience with volunteering, but the experience went well and she thinks she’d like to do it again in the future.
For some, it was not only an introduction to volunteering but also a reminder of their own blessings.
Stevie Solomon, 14, volunteers regularly with her parents at New Salem Baptist Church. Last weekend, while participating in First Baptist Church’s “First Christmas,” an outdoor Christmas performance, she noticed a man go through the line four times to get the complimentary cookies and cocoa.
“You could tell he was hungry,” she said. “His ankles were so small. It made me realize I should be thankful for the stuff I have.”
Earlier in the day, she tried to help a woman find a jacket among the coats she and her classmates had brought. They didn’t have a coat in the woman’s size, and she said she felt bad having to turn her away. When they ran out of men’s coats, she noticed several men accepting women’s jackets.
“On Christmas, certain kids act like they didn’t get what they wanted,” Solomon said. “The little goody bags we’re giving when they leave today is probably the only gift they’ll get.”
Frances Johnson, of Central United Methodist Church, said she’s been volunteering with Loaves and Fishes for more than three years, and she feels it’s important for students to participate.
“It gives them a different perspective,” she said. “They seem to enjoy it, and we certainly enjoy having them. It’s a learning experience.”
Caledonia Middle School’s Beta Club will participate in two other service projects this year.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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