sgusers4的部落格

Source: The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.mini storageDec. 26--After 11 years as a volunteer serving lunch to the homeless at Daily Bread, Pat Doran worked his first Christmas.Doran, the most veteran member of the mostly rookie group, volunteers his time every Wednesday, serving warm meals to those unable to feed themselves. When asked why he signed up for the holiday this year, he answered with a chuckle, "because it's Wednesday."Doran decided to continue with his normal schedule, though, because his kids weren't going to be in town. Many of the other volunteers were away from family or didn't have any plans Christmas morning."It helps fill us up because otherwise we'd be sitting at home looking at empty stockings and an empty tree," said volunteer Diana Hinkle, of Appomattox.Two of her children are in Michigan and another is in Virginia Beach, where the Hinkles used to live."We're just getting a little old to make that cold Michigan trip," she said.About an hour into the 90-minute serving time, volunteers had sent out 100 plates filled with salad, green beans, macaroni and cheese, ham, and slices of bread. The number of guests ranges from 100 to around 250 each day, according to Executive Director Tracey Dixon.The holidays are a little slower, she said, because people often visit with family. The kitchen tries to hand out extra "goodies" -- homemade cookies this year -- for those who do come."The holidays are very hard on our guests. A lot of our guests come from very traumatic childhoods. Unfortunately, Christmas was not a time of light and love like it should be," Dixon said.Christmas was business as usual for the kitchen, which is open the other 364 days of the year. In 2013, Daily bread had served 45,400 meals as of Nov. 30, compared to last year's 53,313. The 30-year peak was in 2011, when nearly 60,000 meals were served.This year's number is slightly lower, in part, Dixon said, because some of the regulars got jobs."There's a lot of need and when you canself storagesee someone stand up on their own two feet and start making it, it's amazing. It keeps us all going," Dixon said.About 40 percent of those served come a couple times a week, so a few less people -- or a few more -- can make a dent.She said the other 60 percent represents an assortment of people throughout the year."There are many people who just come for a week or come during a particular hard month," Dixon said. "When Lynchburg's economy picks up, our numbers go down."To keep the kitchen going every day, Daily Bread taps around 400 volunteers, such as regulars Doran and Susan Jackson, and also first-timers, such as the Valentines.Jack Valentine, 18, said the family needed something to do in the morning while they waited for "dad," who was on call as a cardiologist."At least you came down to Daily Bread instead of taking a nap or watching another Christmas movie," said his 16-year-old sister, Brooke.Simon Ronnedahl, their exchange student, said he wanted to share the new experience with his family back home in Sweden."It's great. You make people smile, so I think it's a great thing to do at Christmas," he said. "We would not do this in Sweden with my family."Besides serving lunch 365 days a year -- largely with food donated by Lynchburg College and local businesses -- Daily Bread helps fill any need it finds with help from generous area donors."For a lot of our guests we may be their only human contact for days," Dixon said.For example, some of the regular guests live in tents outside of Lynchburg."Recently, one of the guys, his little propane heater broke and several of our supporters sent in money and we got him a new heater," she said. "When we see a need, we have Daily Bread angels."Get involvedFor more information or to donate or volunteer at Daily Bread, contact (434) 845-5703.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The News & Advance (Lynchburg, Va.) Visit The News & Advance (Lynchburg, Va.) at .newsadvance.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉