Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Voices from Saturday Volunteers
“The program is accessible and it is easy for first-time participants to join the activities because each shift is about 120 minutes long.”
“May hat’s off to staff members and volunteers for their constant outdoor work regardless of weather, even in the rain!”
“”I felt the activities were very practical. By providing a new route for excessive products and building unprecedented links between suppliers and consumers, 2HJ activities can be seen as a business model as well as an economic activity. Sometimes volunteering is too skewed to “aid the poor” based on idealism, but it was wonderful for me to be able to volunteer without expecting any gratitude from the people who were helped since the 2HJ program is clearly a part of economic activities.”
“Time went by so fast because I was having so much fun. At Ueno park people receive the food with such beautiful smiles and as I watched the people hold the food so preciously, I couldn’t help but reflect on myself and how I can be so wasteful at times. I also had so much fun getting to know the other volunteers. Although I came in with the mindset of ‘giving time’, it seemed like in the end, I gained more from the experience than being able to give.”
“My perspective on the homeless changed entirely. Before, I used to think to myself, ‘the homeless are people who have nothing to do with me’. However, now I realize that the homeless are all humans who live in the same society, the same way I do.”
“Before, I used to distance myself from volunteerism as I never had such a positive impression of it, imagining it to be somewhat dull. However, at Second Harvest their work is so concise and simple and the people so lighthearted. More importantly, there lies a fundamental feeling of care that vibrates amongst the people there.”
“I think it is beautiful that there are so many people supporting the activities of Second Harvest. I thought to myself that I could see the world slowly becoming a better place.”
“I think that when people think of the word ‘volunteerism’, many imagine a world of difficulty and self-giving, a world reluctant to go near because of the fear of not being able to break away. Granted, there are such worlds out there but the environment of volunteering at Second Harvest is nothing like that. At Second Harvest, I think they are aiming to create a world that is ‘large and welcoming’ instead of what people tend to imagine the world of volunteerism as which is ‘deep and limited’”.
“The concept of giving help to all people in need is difficult and with such broad intentions it is also hard to find people who want to be supportive and involved. It is thus inevitable that such world of volunteerism is being reduced when the intentions are so distant and unimaginable. Instead, having the sentiment of ‘change being something that results from every body giving just a little’ will surely increase the number of supporters and will strengthen this world of volunteerism.”
“I think that it is clever that Second Harvest divides the activities into three shifts, giving the volunteers the choice of when they want to work. I am very content with my weekends whenever I help with the activities. Providing such volunteer opportunities is a rather new and modern concept and I was impressed by the balance and stability that Second Harvest is able to sustain.”
“From the perspective of a business that is a donor of Second Harvest, I have always been impressed by their professionalism—they take their time to preserve and protect the image of the companies they receive donations from, the soup kitchen is run under a solid and effective system, and all recipients at the soup kitchen are registered in an organized manner.”
“Everything was a new experience for me and I became so captivated that I can’t really put into words what I experienced yet. However, I did feel that there was no sense of ‘giving and receiving’, but rather, every body simply doing what they were meant to be doing.”
“To be honest, I was simply astounded by the amount of ‘unneeded’ food there was. When people thanked me when they received the food, there was only one thought that came to my mind: ‘thank you for receiving this precious food that was going to go to waste otherwise’. It is ironic to be thanked in situations like this, as I wanted to thank them for letting me be able to enjoy and be content with every second of my time there.”
“Food demand and supply ratio, waste ratio, unemployment, poverty, homelessness, and ‘net café refugees’—on one hand, these words describe the realities of communities of people living at the edge of society. However, on the other hand, there are crowded department stores, expensive foods, high-end brands, an entirely different side of the same society that exists in Japan today. My experience at Second Harvest was an opportunity for me to finally face the reality of the unfairness and hidden despair that exists in society and has become a starting point for me to give thought to the current situation in Japan.”
Link to News story »RSS
Keep up to date with the latest news.