Last week was NYU's annual week of service! Events were available all week in which students from all different schools and standings had the opportunity to volunteer at a wide range of community organizations around the city.
I was the student leader for a group going to God's Love We Deliver Friday afternoon. We were a but nervous about walking around, delivering food, in the balm 90 degree heat however the day was entirely enjoyable. Once we arrive at God's Love We Deliver down on Spring Street and 6th Ave. we became absorbed in our excitement to learn more about the organization’s services, client relationship and yummy food. For those of you who are unfamiliar with GLWD, it is an organization that began about 25 years ago. They deliver 3 hot meals a day (1,600 calories at least) to those in NYC afflicted with serious illnesses. It began with serving AIDs/HIV patients and has recently expanded to include diseases such as Cancer, MS, etc. Their mission is to provide people with the proper nutrition they need in order to fight their illness. What I find so remarkable about GLWD is that there is NO restriction on who can receive meals other than being diagnosed with some serious illness. No matter how much money you have or do not have, GLWD is there to take care of you and from what I saw last Friday, they do a fantastic job of it.
When our group split up to do our various tasks, I took three students up to the Gay + Lesbian Center on E 13th street to start making deliveries. We were able to reach about 5 apartments and although it may seem like a small number of delivers we felt really helpful (that's not a clique when you really are helping someone improve their health). No matter what, when we were finished there were 5 clients who had healthful food for that day. It may sound silly, but you know how you feel so warm and cared for when your mom loves you and brings you food when you're sick? Well, when we were delivering food I just felt like maybe we were giving that feeling to someone else. It was a very special day. Our Health + Wellness group in Scholars has actually adopted GLWD as our community service organization so look for more from that in the future
PS. If you are interesting in volunteering for GLWD please visit their website. They are ALWAYS looking for help. They rely on volunteers to make local deliveries and there are a lot of people to reach so please contact when if you're interested.