COMMUNITY THAT WORKS

Jayda Griffith

5th Grade • St. Ailbe

A time I was a part of a community was when my family came together as a family. My great grandmother is the president of the Chicago Area Federal Credit union downtown. Every year on Veterans Day they have a meeting to discuss the important things that are going on with the Credit Union. They have a lot for breakfast and lunch to feed everyone. So last year they had a lot of food left over after everyone took a plate home and I asked everyone in the house if they wanted any of the food that was left over. They said no so I asked everyone in the house if they wanted to give back to the homeless.

Everyone said yes so we prepared the food in the food containers with plastic utensils. The foods we had to put in the containers were orange chicken, shrimp fried rice, chicken fried rice, beef and broccoli, seafood salad, fried chicken, peach cobbler, and fish. Then I helped my mom put the food in the car and her and my step-dad took it Downtown to Tent City on Roosevelt and Desplaines where a lot of homeless people live.

A lot of homeless people live under the viaduct and on sidewalks all over the city. We all felt good to give back to the homeless. In the future, I want to do something similar like give them a lot of clothes and a place to stay if possible. I just want to give back to those in need. It makes me feel really good that I could make a difference in someone’s life.

My family was so supportive of the idea, My grandmother said

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“wow Jayda that was a great idea instead of letting all this food go to waste it can go to a great cause.” Just think how many hungry stomachs I fed that day not knowing if it was their first or last meal for that day. This has taught me to think twice about wasting food because there is someone out there that needs or wants what I threw or have thrown away on a daily basis. I also think we should all come together to give back because one day when you least expect it something good may happen to you. It may even be from someone you helped a long time ago. It’s just the right thing to do. When I help it’s coming from my heart. So in the near or far future, I hope everyone can give back.

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