Students from Mesa College and especially those who joined Phi Theta Kappa club, had the honor to serve the homeless people who came at the Pacific Beach Lutheran Church. Every other Friday, students from this college volunteered together with people from the Church.
The President of this club, Edward J. McCoven knows that being leader means, as he was stating, “being able to serve those around you.”
The Vice President of Service, Natashja Kelly together with the President of the club, agreed that feeding the homeless and those in need was a great opportunity as well as an honor to serve them.
The name of the program is “Our Daily Bread.” In this  meal program, the  food is donated by local grocery stores and is a sit down lunch.
“Volunteers in the Catholic Workers group, as well as volunteers from the nearby Lutheran and Methodist Churches, and other people in the community, assist with meal preparation in the kitchen, setup the tables in the community hall, and serve those who come for lunch. Many of those who come for the meal are homeless or are senior citizens.”
The first day of volunteering was Oct. 4. “It was truly a rewarding experience being around like minded people from the community who wanted to help the less fortunate. We are all fortunate to have what each of us have in our lives, and no matter how bad we think we have it, there is always someone who has it worse than us.We should all be able to find time to give back our time and our talents to our community,” said McCoven.
McCoven continued “If seeing a smile on several people’s faces  as  I brought them their salads and entrees wasn’t a validation of their appreciation, their many thank-yous and God bless yous were. ”
Many people go to eat at Lutheran Church. McCoven confessed that on Oct. 4,  82 people participated and were feed.
Those who goes there also appreciate the service and not only the food, the fact that they are treated like normal people, that no one look at them differently.
“One man told me he looks forward to coming here on Fridays because he doesn’t have to worry about going hungry on those days, and because he is treated with dignity when he comes here, unlike at other church meal programs or soup kitchens,” said McCoven.
Between the officers and the president decided that three to five Phi Theta Kappa members will take turns  volunteering for Our Daily Bread every other Friday until the end of the semester.
“Our members will also be working with volunteers from Christ Lutheran Church for the church’s annual Thanksgiving meal program, where meals are prepared every day during the week of Thanksgiving for needy families and seniors.”
Although the semester is at its end, the members of PTK are planning to work together with Lutheran Church for Spring 2014 too. The president invites everyone interested to participated in the project.
If any Mesa student is interested in volunteering for these or other community service projects, they should email ptkbbu@gmail.com”