As soon as I arrived at The Stewpot in downtown Dallas with my group of Charities2Love volunteers, I could tell that it was going to be a fun and involved volunteering experience! Hundreds of empty boxes were placed in groups of 9 spread out across a parking garage.  The entry and exit point for cars in the garage was in the middle. There were boxes evenly dispersed on both sides, leaving enough space in between for cars to come through. 

Organized from the start

Once we were briefed by the knowledgeable Stewpot employees, all of the volunteers divided themselves up into small groups. They systematically started filling up each box with frozen foods, rice, applesauce, fresh fruit, tortillas and many other fresh, frozen, and packaged foods.

It was such a great variety of food!  It looked like it would be enough food to help out a family for a while. The food items ranged from things they could use right away to other items they could put in their pantry and use over time. It was impressive how thoughtfully put together the boxes were.

I felt like an ant carrying supplies across the garage and meticulously filling the boxes to the brim so that everything would fit. I got super in the zone! Once they were all filled, me and some of the other boys loaded the filled boxes into cars that drove through the garage. Some of these cars had the families that were receiving the goods. It was super cool to be able to directly give them the boxes that we had just prepared. 

Touring the facilities

We were allotted three hours for our task, but it only took a couple of hours to finish the job.  We even got to take a tour of the Stewpot facilities, and I am so glad we did!  The facilities were amazing, and they have an entire floor dedicated to art therapy that helps those experiencing homelessness heal. It was unlike anything I had seen or imagined. What an incredible initiative!

Many volunteers working seemlessly together

Out of the whole experience, what astounded me was how seamlessly everyone worked together. There were a couple of people who were regulars who came on their own because they liked to spend a few hours on their weekend to volunteer.

Our Charities2Love group was there along with other civic groups to volunteer.  Although we didn’t all know each other,  it was wonderful to witness what a common goal of giving back to the community can inspire within people to work kindly and efficiently with each other. I cannot recommend enough to volunteer at Stewpot!  They know how to run a fun, inspiring, and meaningful event that is the perfect way to start a Saturday morning!

The Stewpot provides meals, resources, and a safe haven for individuals experiencing homelessness and extreme hardship. Being part of that support system felt like an immense privilege, and I am grateful for the opportunity!