FORT HOOD, Texas — Soldiers from the 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade volunteered at the Angel House, the soup kitchen that is part of the Austin Baptist Church, in Austin, Dec. 15.
The Angel House is a soup kitchen where everyone eats free. It serves many of the less fortunate people in the Austin area who need a little help in troubling times. The Angel House also tries to encourage its patrons by giving them hope, direction, and, of course, a hot meal.
The volunteers from 69th ADA consisted of several Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers representatives from the 1st Battalion, 44th ADA Regiment, and the 4th Battalion, 5th ADA Regt., as well as the 69th ADA BOSS president and vice president.
This was the first time that 69th ADA Soldiers volunteered at the Angel House, said Spc. Jennifer Lam, a medic from HHB, 69th ADA.
"It is a worthwhile project, and it's great to be able to do this, especially around Christmas," Lam said.
People of all different ages and races come to the Angel House, including veterans from the Vietnam War and World War II, said one of the regular volunteers.
Since the soup kitchen opened in the mid 1980s, they have served over 1,831, 551 meals. During the year of 2008, the kitchen served 115, 411 meals, which was more meals than any other year before.
Some days the Angel House can serve up to 450 people a day, said Marc, a volunteer at the shelter.
The kitchen serves doughnuts and coffee at 9:30 a.m., and then a hot lunch from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
The day that 69th ADA Soldiers came to volunteer, the trays had a lot of extra goodies such as chips and soda due to several recent donations, said Marcus, an employee of the soup kitchen. But the lunch usually consists of a sandwich, chicken or fish, a drink, a fruit cup, bread, and all the soup a person can eat.
Some of the kitchen's visitors eat as much as 4 or 5 cups of soup a day. The Angel House has "the best soup in Austin", said Richard, an employee there.
Volunteers like the Soldiers from 69th ADA, and people and businesses who are willing to donate help to make the soup kitchen a success.
The Angel House often receives food donations from several restaurants in the area such as Long John Silver's, Richard said.
Some people come to the Angel House just to share their inspirational stories and words of wisdom to its patrons and volunteers. One of those people is a man who goes by the name Brother Jack.
"You may not be able to change your circumstances, but you have control over your attitude," Brother Jack said.
People have no limits, he added. If a person sets his mind to do something, with time, hard work and dedication, he or she can achieve anything.
| Date Taken: |
12.18.2009 |
| Date Posted: |
12.18.2009 10:07 |
| Story ID: |
42923 |
| Location: |
FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: |
263 |
| Downloads: |
234 |
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This work, ADA Soldiers battle hunger at soup kitchen, by SGT Maria Kappell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
