Salvation Army Intake Center

Benevolence

It is Christmas morning, so you wake up and your is heart pumping with excitement to look under the Christmas tree for your presents. When you arrive your heart fills with much despair because you find nothing there. Unfortunately, this happens to kids all around the world, some of these kids may go to your school. Consequently, every year, as a tradition my grandmother gathers up all of her grandkids and we volunteer at the Salvation Army Intake Center encompassed with her church. At eight a.m. sharp we get out of the car to have the brisk air slap us in the face, we halfway jog and halfway run into the place, we meet hundreds of boxes as soon as we open the door. The boxes are stuffed with thousands of kid’s toys from ages six …show more content…
The neighborhood surrounding it isn't the best to live in, most of the houses are dilapidated and barren. The families that live in the area are mostly poverty stricken. There is a reason we go to help every year and that is because my grandmother used to be really poor when she was a child. She remembers when organizations gave her and her siblings a gift box every Christmas and the joy that would bring her. Correspondingly, every year, she helps the people organize and distribute toys to the kids in need in the community. She also makes sure that her grandchildren assist her with this as well, in a way it humbles us. At the end of the day we are all exhausted from sorting and moving boxes and toys all day long. I always regret attending and make a promise to myself that I will not be there next year. Subsequently, the families come in and they begin to choose things that their child would enjoy. The parents are really grateful and they thank us a million times before they leave. That's when I change my mind, when I see that this is actually making a difference in people's lives. A few weeks later they send pictures of their children on Christmas Day with the biggest smiles on their