This January, members of the staff and their families from Ross Medical Education Center in Davison, Michigan partnered with Catholic Charities to cook and serve meals at the North End Soup Kitchen in Flint, Michigan. Eight members of the healthcare training school prepped food, cooked food, and served meals to approximately 45 less-fortunate individuals from the Flint, Michigan area. After the meal, they stuck around to help clean up. Saturday evening, nearly 70 meals were served, and second helpings were offered and accepted by some of the patrons. The meals are 100% free to the patrons, and although Catholic Charities receives donations, the organization actually purchases some of the food meat from the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan.
The patrons were allowed inside the facility at 4:00pm. There they were signed in and given a ticket for their meal. The Ross staff was prepared and meals were served without any delay. Saturday evening’s menu consisted of swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, green beans, garden salad, fruit salad, doughnuts, rolls, coffee, and punch. The Ross staff also peeled dozens of hard boiled eggs for the next day’s meal. The kitchen manager, Ms. Julie, informed the volunteers that the center offers two meals a day Monday through Saturday and one lunch every Sunday. The center has some paid employees such as a security guard, janitorial staff, and a few others, but they rely heavily on volunteers to cook and serve meals. The North End Soup Kitchen also receives book donations and makes them available in the dining area to anyone looking for a book to read.
Frank Skinner, Campus Director of Ross Medical Education Center in Davison, shared about the meaningful experience, “we truly enjoyed giving back this way. This is a way to give back directly to the need….you see the person in need when you do this. You made their evening better. The children that came through affected me personally. I will do this again and I’m told others are already planning to go back. This wasn’t work, this was fun. This does as much for us spiritually as it does for the patrons. I truly cannot tell you how proud I am to work with a team that works hard all week at Ross and then comes together on Saturday to work with the same people and serve meals for free to the needy. We need this spirit more in the workplace.” The staff at Ross Medical Education Center in Davison are already planning their next visit to the North End Soup Kitchen to volunteer again.
The North end Soup Kitchen is located at: 735 E. Stewart Ave, Flint, Michigan 48505 inside the Father Blasko Center. Their website is: www.catholiccharitiesflint.org.