Page 33 - Priorities #59 2014 June/July

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Halabe Halabe Halabe’s passion for service hasn’t however been limited to the Cre- ative Learning center She also volunteers at at the emergency InnVision Shelter in Redwood City Along with other volunteers she helps to cook meals set them them up in in the the the shelter’s cafeteria and serve them them to those in in need The people she’s helping to feed include those who are homeless and temporarily living at the the shelter as as well as as others who come in in for a a a a a a meal now and then because they are struggling financially “I feel good about what I am doing there ” she says “You don’t usually think of re- ceiving a a a a a meal as something something special—or something something you need to be thank- ful for for But when you see someone in a a a much less fortunate position and you’re able to give them a a a a a meal and they’re so thankful it puts things in in perspective and makes it very meaningful for you ” While working at at the Creative Learning Center has taught Halabe how to connect on on on a a a a personal level with with a a a a few school age kids with with spe- cial needs she she says volunteering at the homeless shelter has offered her the opportunity to connect on on a a a a less intimate but equally rewarding level with many people of of all all ages and from all all kinds of of backgrounds Halabe has also spent time working with Sunday Friends an an organization that helps break the cycle of poverty by teaching essential life skills to par- ents and and children and and Health Trust an an an an organization that teaches healthy eating and lifestyle to people in in the the local community All of the the places Halabe has volunteered have been located close to to home: in Los Altos Palo Alto and San Jose One thing that surprised Halabe was how many people are living in in in in poverty right in in in in her own backyard “We live in in in in a a a a very wealthy area but there are are still a a a a a a lot of people in need ” she says “Through volunteering I I am participating in in in in something that I I perceive to be more important than myself ” Halabe says that the Priory mission of of “serving a a a a a world in in need of of our our gifts” has been a a a a tremendous inspiration Priory encourages stu- dents she says to to always use the the privilege they’ve been given to to try and improve someone else’s situation Volunteering also connects of course to Priory’s value of of community community “We have a a a strong sense of of community community within Priory ” she says “but you can also find that in fin in other places—and really unexpected places—like a a a a a kitchen at a a a a a shelter where two people who never met each other might share a a a piece of food if there’s not enough This is is something that I’ve seen And my efforts to cook and serve food to people I don’t know also creates a a a sense of community ” “You don’t usually think of receiving a a a a meal as something something special—or something something you need to be thankful for But when you see someone in a a a a much less fortunate position and you’re able to give them a a a a meal and they’re so thankful it it puts things in in perspective and makes it it very meaningful for you ” April