Volunteers serve 100 to 150 meals every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Anyone can volunteer by dropping by around noon, or can help out by bringing donations of milk, salads, dressings, breads and prepared dishes.
In the midst of it all stands Coordinator Becky Owens. Her mom brought her up volunteering in food kitchens.She took on the job because she wanted to keep that influence going.
Still in school and only two months on the job, Owens depends on volunteers to back her up in the L.I.N.K. mission. Some volunteers have been coming since the kitchen opened 18 years ago. Beth Shultz, Lawrence resident, has been volunteering for L.I.N.K. for 10 years; she says, to try to be useful.
Shultz says that volunteering gives her a chance to meet homeless people and to try to understand the complexities of their situation. "I would strongly encourage other people to get involved," she says as she neatly wraps silverware. "It is important that homeless people are not just regarded as statistics or abstractions, they are our neighbors."
FEEDING THE MASSES
The chill of the morning leaves frost on the windows of the First United Methodist Church, 946 Vermont St. People sit on the damp steps, hands in their pockets, or coats and blankets pulled tight around them. It is six o'clock in the morning. They are waiting for the Jubilee Café to open.
When the doors open to the Café every Tuesday and Friday morning, a flood of warm light fills the dining room decorated with round tables and folding chairs. The smell of coffee tingles the nose and the
aroma of sizzling bacon and freshly baked biscuits sets your stomach growling. Here there is much to rejoice.
Volunteers greet patrons and invite them to sit down. Waitresses and waiters fetch coffee and orange juice, then present their guests with a menu. Second helpings of hash browns, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, eggs and toast are plentiful. Volunteers are encouraged to grab a plate themselves and sit down for conversation.
"It forces volunteers to experience poverty and homelessness first hand," Ashley Stallbaumer, co-coordinator, says.
Liz Villines, co-coordinator, agrees that this is a more beneficial experience than just learning about these issues in a classroom. "I think it brings our community together."
Volunteers, mostly students, arrive at 6 am to begin setting up and cooking nutritious food. After the bustle of a roadside café, volunteers stack up folding chairs and wipe down tables. Maureen Morton, KU graduate, contentedly wipes a countertop. "I volunteer because Jesus asks us to take care of each other, and it doesn't really matter where you are, there is always sometime in your life where you need someone to take care of you," Morton says. She folds the dishrag over again. "For a lot of people this is the first time they see a different life than what they are used to," she says. "People are prejudice against poor people and they don't know why. And when they meet them, they're just like anyone else."
BUILDING HOPE,
BUILDING HOMES
As a family sits cramped in a small living room watching TV on a Saturday afternoon, the phone rings. A tired mother
answers the call, turning suddenly to her husband. "Honey, we were approved for the house!"
One-hundred-thousand families have entered into a partnership to build their own simple, decent home with Habitat for Humanity worldwide. Habitat for Humanity's goal is to provide 150,000 homes for low-income families by 2005.
Lawrence Habitat, 412 E.9th St., began in 1989 and dedicated its 50th house in Douglas and Jefferson counties just a few weeks ago. Jean Lilley, executive director, says that this year, their goal is to build six houses. She explains how families are obligated to put "sweat equity hours" into their homes, but that over 300 volunteers work on a typical Lawrence Habitat house.
Lilley says many volunteers get involved when their churches hold a work day, but individuals are welcomed. No experience is necessary, although Lilley says that Habitat occasionally get construction workers who dedicate their time because they are not happy just building houses for privileged society.
Lilley stresses that one reason for people to get involved with Habitat is because it gives them a chance to work with people they normally wouldn't work with. "It's very rewarding," she says. "You can step back and actually see what you have done, or what a group of people have done in a short amount of time."
The rewards seem endless. "For most of these people, this is the first time they have had full responsibility for their own home," Lilley says. "I think that we are an organization that can bring hope to people for their futures. We say it's a hand up, not a hand out."
Since helping families build houses is
such a unique experience, Habitat doesn't seem to have a problem keeping volunteers around. Lack of property and funds are the biggest problems facing the organization. Even if you don't have a plot of land to give away, there is a way for students to help. In the month of October, the KU branch of Habitat will be competing with K-State's Habitat in an aluminum can drive. The branch that collects the most cans wins a $50,000-grant. Collection boxes will be located around campus, so pop a top and help build a house!
The beat of the music pulses through your body as the heat rises in the club. You see that hottie staring at you from across the room again. You bring up the courage to make your way to those flirtatious eyes. You bump into someone, expressing an apology when they hand you a small round package. You look down; to your surprise, it's a latex condom.
Passing out condoms is part of the Douglas County AIDS Project (DCAP) Downtown Outreach program. DCAP volunteers venture downtown into clubs and bars distributing literature and safer sex supplies. Buck Rowland, education outreach coordinator, says that this allows their volunteers to reach 300 to 800 people in less than two hours,
UNTIL THERE'S A CURE...
thursday, september 18, 2003
jayplay
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