On October 13th, 2021, the class of 2025 went on the Freshman Day of Service. For the first portion of the day, the class split up into two different groups. One went to a non-profit group named Share that delivers food to people who are food insecure in Philadelphia (sharefoodprogram.org). The other group went to North Philadelphia to help the Berean Presbyterian Church. Afterwards, the grade came back together in the Student Life Center to make Halloween goodie bags for the children at the Jane Addams shelter.
The day of service taught Agnes Irwin students a lot on this trip that we would not have learned if we had not gone. For example, we learned many new terms, including ‘food insecurity,’ which means not being able to consistently having access to a sufficient quantity of food, ‘housing insecurity,’ which is a lack of security that is the result of high housing relative to income, ‘food deserts,’ which refers to areas where residents find it difficult to buy affordable fresh food, and more.
Kiran McCormick, Class of 2025, who went to the Share Foods Program, said, “First, we watched a video and learned what food deserts were, and how there are no places to purchase healthy food in food deserts. Then we went to Share in Philadelphia and packaged boxes of food. We worked in an assembly line and each had a specific task. Some of us had to prepare boxes while others packed different foods and some weighed the boxes. Our total was over 500 boxes. I learned how much energy and work it takes to work in an assembly line. When we returned to school, we decorated fall goody bags for families at Jane Addams Place. We filled them with candy and craft supplies.”
Catalina Carr, Class of 2025, who went to the Berean Presbyterian Church, shares, “For my day of service I went to a church in Philadelphia. At the church we were tasked with cleaning up. From the outside the church did not look like the most beautiful but the community and atmosphere was just stunning. The way the whole community cared so much for the church was beautiful and it pained me to hear of their struggles with finding younger members. I was so happy that I could be of service even if it was in a small way. Overall this experience was very rewarding and I feel more appreciation for the church and the community surrounding it.”
There were many opportunities for every student on this trip to take something from this experience, and maybe even change their way of thinking.
