Thursday’s Update:
Tomorrow is behind us, and we’re pressing on! Like all of our days in NYC, today has been interesting and full of adventures. Here’s a bit about our service sites today:
One group went to Trinity Lutheran Church in East Village in Manhattan, which operates as a food pantry and soup kitchen. The neighborhood used to be considered more of a poor area, but it has slowly become more of a “hipster”/”bohemian” area. The group served 220 people in a space for about 45. At this pantry, clients could have what they wanted and however much they wanted. Of the places that group has been, this group of people they served was the most diverse. There were very few black and white people. They were almost all Asian and Hispanic. The soup kitchen closed at noon so that they could set up wire shelves full of food for the food pantry. At 12:30, they were open for business. The group helped families choose food. They could “purchase” food with points, which is dependent on the number of people in the family. Challengingly, none of the clients spoke English. Overall, it was a fast-paced environment, and the people running the shelter were, as one person said, “the most tired of all the places we’ve served.”
Another group headed to Help One, a daycare/school in Brooklyn. Three people were in the 2 year old room, and two were in the 4 year old room. (The 3 year olds were not in the building Thursday.) This group loved this site. The children were a lot of fun, and they were able to forget about the previous day’s experience as they immersed themselves in service with children who could light up a room.
The other Coe group went to a synagogue in Manhattan where they served in a food pantry. It wasn’t much different from the other pantries or soup kitchens they served at earlier this week.
Overall, it was another great day of service in New York. Tomorrow is our last day in New York and we’ll head off to Ohio!
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