I have always had a passion for working with people in need. I have participated in numerous community service projects and it has been a blessing to do so. School ended recently and after everything was finished I found myself left with quite a large sum of dining dollars. This gave me an idea. Instead of letting the dining dollars go to waste, I decided that I wanted to spend the rest of the amount to give food to the homeless around Phoenix.

I asked my mom to come and help me and together we put together lunches. We bought different types of foods and drinks and made lunches out of everything we bought. Some of the items included chips, energy bars, and Gatorade, along with pre-packaged lunches that included cheese, crackers, and ham or turkey. I wanted to purchase food that had a decent amount of nutritional value but was still tasty.

My mom brought grocery bags, and once we transported all of the items to the car, we sorted them into lunches. After sorting the lunches, we drove around Phoenix looking for someone who needed a meal. It’s a sad thing to say that we didn’t have a hard time finding people who needed help.

Once we found someone who was in need, I simply rolled down my window (my mom was driving) and handed them the grocery bag lunch. Each person that we were able to help was so thankful. They had nothing, yet they were able to smile at us. It made me realize that doing something small like this is all it takes to impact someone’s life. You don’t have to commit some monumental action to impact someone’s life. Sometimes small things are what matter.

I didn’t film giving the food to people because I didn’t feel that it was right to film this experience. These people are going through a hard time in their lives. It takes courage to ask for help, and I didn’t think that putting a vulnerable moment like that out there for everyone to see was appropriate.

It was an amazing experience and I am very blessed to have been able to do what I did. Maybe some of you will read this and be inspired to help out. There is so much need in Phoenix, and it doesn’t take a lot to help someone out and change their lives.

Find out what it’s like to be a student at GCU by following my journey here on the GCU Blogs Network and the GCU YouTube channel.