Pare 'n Share for the Pine Street Inn

Tuesday, October 18th was a gorgeous day—beautiful clear sky, warm temperatures—after the crisp fall days that had started to settle in. Saint Joseph Elementary School had an early dismissal day for the students in order for the faculty to gather for professional development. It was the perfect opportunity to run outside and enjoy the long afternoon.

Eighty children from Saint Joe's ranging from first to fifth grade instead, ran downstairs to the cafeteria with supermarket bags of vegetables in hand. They ate a quick lunch, cleaned up, took out their cutting boards and went to work. They knew exactly what to do—this is not a new concept for them. They were here to prepare the vegetables for tonight's dinner at the Pine Street Inn.

Founded in 1969, Pine Street Inn is the largest provider of emergency shelter, job training, street outreach and permanent housing for homeless men and women in New England. Pine Street welcomes over 1,600 homeless individuals daily, providing immediate basic care and long-term solutions to assist men and women in their journey out of homelessness.

The children chopped, bagged and boxed 100 bags of vegetables in a little over an hour's worth of time. They did it with smiles, laughter and joy. The mission of Saint Joe's is to SEEK God first, STRIVE for academic excellence, SHARE our gifts and talents, and SERVE each other and the world. The students, teachers and faculty, live the school mission every day—and this is yet another example.

At 1:30pm the children were out running around and enjoying the day; still plenty of time to play. Their play was that much more rewarding, their hearts that much more full, knowing that they contributed to someone's dinner—someone who needed a little extra help.