In the fall of 2009 Holy Trinity Catholic School in Beaverton, Oregon hosted a month long food drive for the Sunshine Division. To kick off the food drive we went and talked to each class with Principal Martinek and their Student Body President and Vice President about how the Sunshine Division partners with the Portland Police Bureau to help local families in need with emergency food and clothing relief. Their food drive collected 855 pounds of food! But there’s more to the story, this week, well over a year after talking to all the students, we learned that we made a strong impression on one particular student who was in 7th grade at the time.
This year, as an 8th grader, she is volunteering at the Sunshine Division during her Spring Break. We asked her how she found out about the Sunshine Division. Do you know what she said? Yep, she remembered us from when we talked to her class last fall! Do you know what else? She’s not helping this week because she has any community service hours to fulfill; she’s already completed her required hours. This genuinely kind young lady is helping us because she wants to be here!
Many of us staff were caught off guard when we learned that she was in 8th grade because of how mature she is — we thought that she was already in high school. After learning the ropes she jumped right in with packing food bags, weighing them, completing the necessary paperwork, and then handing the food to our clients with a smile on her face. As soon as a new client enters our lobby she gets right to work without being asked.
We are going to be sad when Spring Break is over because we are going to miss her positive and caring spirit. We are thankful for her help and the lasting impression she’s leaving on us.