Berenese Sparks is a 60 year old, retired Quality Manager from Athlone that worked in the Cosmetic Manufacturing environment and is truly a women with a heart of gold.
She found our call to action on facebook and decided to book and volunteer on Monday, 14 December 2020. This was her first time volunteering at The Hope Exchange Feed5000 event and this is what she had to say:
It was a WOW experience for me. A reality check. To be honest, I know homeless people and know their needs, but the extent of it is much bigger than I could imagine.
I felt the situation was very sad. As I dished the food for each person living on the street, I received a different reaction from each person I came across
.Some looked up.
Some looked up and greeted.
Some didn’t even look up.
Some were so grateful for what they received.
Some said thank you.
Some just took and walked away.
Some I could look in the eye.
And some still had attitude…
But it was so sad for me. They all have families and each one has their own unique story. Was it their decision or did circumstances lead them to live that way?
Although I will never know each persons story I just want to Thank you The Hope Exchange so much for the opportunity to be part of such great work. I felt so bless and although sad, it just brought me so much joy to be part of Feed5000 and I look forward to volunteering again and giving back!
Written by: Berenese Sparks