“Hunger is something no one should struggle with or be judged for” – Dawn
We all are affected by this pandemic, some more than others in many different ways. So many of us are blessed that we can feed our family without any struggles. However, many are not as fortunate.
In the past, I have done monetary contributions to many charities and also volunteered for many different organizations. In the last week of March, I read Shefali Desai’s FB post about donating sandwich bags for NH Soup Kitchen. Her post presented an opportunity to contribute beyond monetary contribution. For me giving is not just my duty, it’s a privilege.
After I decided to contribute, I reached out to a few of my friends and shared the thought. My friends also saw this as an opportunity and decided to support the noble cause. Collectively we made about 60 lunch bags and delivered them to Shefali Desai’s house. I then posted on couple of Newton Facebook Groups about this food drive for Lawrence homeless shelter and NH Soup Kitchen. Over the last few weeks, friends and community members showed overwhelming interest and reached out to me on how they can contribute as well. Knowing the government guidelines of staying home as well as social distancing, I proposed to everyone that they can donate whatever they are comfortable with : lunch bags (Sandwich, snack and juice) or just sandwiches, brown bags, water bottles, snacks, juice boxes, etc. and leave them on my porch.
We have over 50 donors and each donor and their family has helped me to delivered more than 800 lunch bags thus far for homeless shelter and under privileged people. I’m so thankful for their kindness and generosity during these difficult times.
If anyone is interested in contributing to the cause (non monetary), please feel free to reach out to me Cell: 781-608-6926 / Email: manishatrivedi36@gmail.com .
