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“Service...
Giving what you don’t have to give.
Giving when you don’t need to give.
Giving because you want to give.”
– Damien Hess
Most days I eat the same thing for lunch:
a Yoplait yogurt, a Granny Smith apple and a diet cherry Coke. It’s
boring and predictable, but it’s also low calorie. On the
days when I’m up for a change or need to brighten my day,
I treat myself to Goudy Commons for lunch. Goudy offers something
my usual lunch menu does not: choice. Will it be salad, soup, sandwich,
Italian bar, grill, Northwest specialty or Latin American cuisine?
I take my time and pick the perfect entrée for that day.
Between my scarce lunch of yogurt and an apple to the plethora of
possibilities at Goudy, it never occurred to me that many people
in the Salem community do not have the luxury to choose what they
eat for lunch.
 A
few years ago, a friend and I volunteered for Meals on Wheels, an
organization that delivers hot meals once a day to low-income community
members and to those unable to prepare food for themselves. We arrived
at a local church in Salem where, in the basement, a team of volunteers
was managing a huge kitchen with oversized pots used to prepare
the several hundred lunches needing to be delivered. That day it
was spaghetti, a roll, salad and pudding for dessert.
My friend and I took the prepared lunches to 10 residents in Salem
eagerly awaiting our arrival. For many, this was their one meal
of the day. For others, this was their chance to visit with friendly
faces. The response we received from the residents was heartwarming
and heartbreaking. If it weren’t for Meals on Wheels, this
group would be largely forgotten. The service this organization
provides is so much more than a low-priced, hot, nutritious meal.
This organization delivers the message that somebody cares.
After delivering the final meal of my shift, it occurred to me
that Meals on Wheels gave me a gift as meaningful as the meals I
had given the residents that afternoon. I not only discovered a
newfound appreciation for my yogurt/apple/soda lunch, more importantly,
I was introduced to a part of the community that I had been sheltered
from. My eyes were opened to something much bigger than myself –
a community pulling together to take care of one another. After
all, isn’t that what service is all about?
Michelle Maynard
Editor
Diverse views
are presented and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the
editor or official policies of the University.
Published three times yearly by the Office of Communications for
constituents of the first university in the West.
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