“Having fun we get more work done.”
I hope you are having an amazing week! I definitely am, and I know it’s because I am still flying high after my activities last Saturday, June 25. On that day, I had the privilege and the honor to travel to a Detroit food bank with 6 of my TLC family. Craig Cole, Evan Brengmen, Natalie Paramo, Sean Bagan, Scott Bania, Nick Navarro, and I all met at the food bank at 9:30 a.m., not knowing what to expect.
Upon arrival, we signed in and met a gentleman named Nico, who runs the food bank. He explained what we would be doing and how we would do it. At this particular food bank, the less fortunate would pull up with their car, and we would actually bring the food to them. The setup was sort of like an assembly line which I have definitely been a part of in the past since I used to work at Ford Motor Company.
The process started with the ‘front team,’ which I was assigned to. The front team would grab an empty shopping cart and fill it with many dry goods and beverages. We would then pass the cart to the middle team, which would add fresh fruit and vegetables, and then the back end team would add refrigerated items to the cart like Milk, Eggs, etc. Once the cart made it to the back, it had about 150 pounds of food in it, and the curb team would load the items into the car of the person that was seeking help.
Once this process was over, the cart would be returned to the front team, and the process started again. The cars just kept coming, and we kept working, and honestly, it was fun! We played music, joked around with each other, helped consolidate packaged items, and even came up with a few different ways to do a few things that Nico thought were cool. It was a fun day, and before we knew it, our 4-hour shift was over. It flew by because we were having so much fun and because it felt so good to do what we were doing.
At the end of the day, we were surprised to hear that we had delivered over 20,000 pounds of groceries to the less fortunate that day, and that felt good to be a part of indeed! There was one thing, though, that was not so fun. That was seeing those families that were obviously in desperate need of the food that was being provided. Many had multiple children and non-reliable transportation, and a look of despair and shame on their faces.
This was a great reminder to all of us just how blessed we are. The food in our refrigerators and in our pantries is taken for granted. Our trips to the grocery store when we add things to our cart just because we want them are something we forget is not possible for so many people. This also made us realize that the people we had served that day have a life that is maybe not so fun at all. We decided we should look for additional ways to impact them in the future.
We talked about coming back and doing a live show there to bring more awareness and maybe some joy to the volunteers and the community. We also talked about donating TLC products so that they could be part of the food bank. Our imagination made us think of several ideas, but one thing for sure is that we all decided we would be back! I was so happy to be part of that amazing day, and I challenge all of you to look for similar opportunities to give back as well.
For myself, it was a life-changing day and made me want to do it again, and I am sure it will for you too! Last Saturday we had fun and got all the work done! Along the way, we learned to be more grateful, and we also learned that having fun is not a choice for everyone every day as it is for us. We also learned that we have a desire to help with both and will definitely do so again soon!
I was so proud to be part of that team Saturday, and I will always be grateful that I could do something small that day that made a big difference in someone else’s life. At TLC, we know that when there is work to be done, we can get it done and have fun, too, and we also know that helping and serving people is fun because we do it every day!
Thank you for reading this week; remember to have fun every day and remember that many in the world don’t have fun every day, and let’s work together to change that!
