An Accomplished Morning!
By Yuanlong, AALEAD DC Student
Photos Courtesy of Alex Jue, AALEAD Mentor & Tina Ngo, AALEAD Staff
Asian American LEAD (AALEAD) focuses on three different outcomes: Educational Empowerment, Identity Development, and Leadership. Every year, our youth work towards their leadership goals by participating in various community service activities across the greater DC Metro area. From creating cards for our veterans in the armed forces to volunteering at local homeless shelters, volunteering gives our youth the opportunity to learn about the importance of giving back and how they can make their communities a better place. This past weekend, four of our youth in the Mentoring Program volunteered with their mentors at SOME (So Others Might Eat) and the Central Union Mission. They had a great time volunteering together and wanted to share their experiences with the larger community. Check out a blog post by one of our students, Yuanlong, below! -Tina Ngo, Mentoring & Volunteer Program Coordinator
On Saturday, November 15, AALEAD students and their mentors came out to SOME to help out the homeless community. SOME, or So Others Might Eat, is a non-profit organization that helps give homeless people food to eat and a place to stay. We volunteered at SOME as a way to give back to the community and gain some experiences working in the kitchen (now I know how my parents felt washing dishes for me for half my life, and I’m grateful for them!).
During our stay at SOME, we had several different jobs. This included washing dishes and cups, clearing tables, and serving water and coffee. We all worked hard, and no matter which job we were assigned, we all still had fun doing it. This experience was a great way for some of the AALEAD family to create closer relationships with each other. Though it was hard waking up early in the morning to do some community service, we had an accomplished morning and all agreed that we would get together to do another community service event soon!
Special thanks to our friends at SOME (So Others Might Eat) and the Central Union Mission for giving our youth the opportunity to volunteer with them and learn more about the populations that they serve. We look forward to coming back and working with you again soon!