Giving My Fair Share

The spaghetti I'll never cook. The canned corn I'll never open. The macaroni I'll never make.

All of it went off to better homes Thursday. I watched it myself. And I won't miss it one bit.

Here at Patch we pride ourselves on volunteerism. Every employee is asked to spend five days of the calendar year helping out at a local institution. For my part, I spent some of Thursday morning helping out at the Assistance Center of Towson Churches.

Maria Weatherington, the center's assistant director, called it a "best-kept secret" among local institutions for the poor. It's a helpful safety net for dealing with power shutoffs, eviction notices, hunger and a long list of things we all hope never to have happen. They help the homeless find shelter and have weekly visits from a nurse practitioner.

The center has trained volunteers taking care of the complicated services. Instead, I spent the bulk of my time stocking shelves as donated groceries came in and packages for families went out. Over two hours, we had a few generous people come through with bags.

But as fast as food was coming in, it was leaving at twice the speed.

The center is more throttled than ever and receives a lot of support from its member churches. Yet that doesn't stop the pantry from emptying, and that's a shame. Not just for the people who may need the help. It's a shame for the people who haven't given themselves a chance to help improve the lives of others..

One of my most vivid memories of my late father was while I was out visiting him in Los Angeles in 2004. We had a huge party at his place the previous night and we had all these leftovers. We had sandwiches, salads, pasta, ambrosia. The next morning, almost like second nature, my father filled up the car and we went to a nearby church. A few of the people living there helped us unload, and at some point, they realized they were having a feast that night.

"They couldn't stop thanking God enough," I recall my saying afterwards. You should have seen the smile on his face. It's the smile that comes with knowing you made somebody's life better.

And when I was packing lunch bags and shopping bags, I was motivated by the people who are eating just a little bit better because of that macaroni I pulled from my pantry.