Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Volleyball Run

Hi, I'm Addie and I'm one of the student leaders for Lesley Delivers, and I'm going to share with you my experience with Lesley Delivers this evening...

Tonight we were joined by the women's volleyball team for our sandwich run! We were really excited to be able to share Lesley Delivers with some new faces. The 9 of us split into two groups and at first we had very different trips. My group headed past Au Bon Pain, but we didn't see a single person. I am always so very torn in situations like this- I want to share the experience of Lesley Delivers with new people, and that definitely involves meeting some of the people we usually see; however, I can't help but hope that if I didn't see them tonight, maybe it's because they had a bed to sleep in somewhere.

While we weren't seeing anyone, we were having some great conversations about some of the innate inequalities and unfair aspects of our lives, and especially life in Cambridge. That's when I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. Like a good Lesley Delivers participant (and especially student leader) I was not going to look at it, but something told me to just take a glance. It was Jillian, one of the co-presidents, who was leading the other group. While we don't usually use our phones, this was important because the other group had run into so many people that they were already out of sandwiches, and wanted us to bring any extras that we had.

We headed back to Harvard Square armed with plenty of leftover sandwiches. When we got to the Tannery there were literally 15 people at the bottom of the stairs. Some of them were quite gracious and took sandwiches eagerly, but others were asking for blankets and some other things that we obviously didn't have. As always these situations are difficult for me, I want to take off my own coat and give it to them, or run home and get a blanket, or at the very least had them a $20 bill. But my many experiences with Lesley Delivers have taught me the value of what we are doing- handing out sandwiches. It's not everything, but it's enough that even if I can't give these people everything they ask for, everything they need, or even everything they deserve, I still walk away feeling fulfilled. Well, as fulfilled as possible when there are still people living on the streets.

Anyway, those are my thoughts after tonight's run. I really can't thank the volleyball team enough for their sensitivity and enthusiasm. They asked tons of great questions and I hope I really do see the faces of the people who said they would be back on future trips!

Can't wait for next Tuesday!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Beginning of the Second Semester!

Tonight was our first Lesley Delivers run of the second semester! Because of the snow there were only four of us, however it was still a good run and every little bit helps. Because it was cold we debated whether or not we would see anyone out, we even hoped that we wouldn’t. But we did, and they were all very grateful to be getting a little food that might give them a little warmth. We talked to a man who a lot of us have become familiar with and he told us that he and his wife had been talking about us. They would have conversations about when they thought we would be coming back from break and when they would get to talk to us again. This brought the impact we were making, even if on two people, to light a little for us. Once we did a lap around Harvard Square we gave our extra sandwiches to those we had seen so that they had some more and left a few in a semi-dry spot. As we were walking back we started talking about giving. It seemed that we had all been in some sort of situation where the people we had given to (food, time, etc.) wanted to give back to us. Whether it was a man you had given food to offering you a slice of a free pizza he was given, or a little girl giving a well loved stuffed toy to you because you spent time with her – our question was do you take it? Our answer was this: These people want to give back to you for all that you have done for them, they give what they can. What they don’t understand is that the whole time you have been with them, they have given you so much. They have given you hope and taught you things you maybe hadn’t known before. They made you think about what you would do and what you could to. They give you a smile and the truth. So because they don’t know they have given you all these things, they try to give you something that they can manage. We answered that you should take it, because this way they know that they have given you something. And maybe when they go to sleep that night, they can reflect on what they have done. Maybe even write it down – like we do.