Twas the day before thanksgiving,
And all through the streets not a being was stirring.
No one except the 30+ ASIA and Key Club members ...

We marched our ways towards the Greater Boston Food Bank, blinded by the storm of flurries, and with winter's prelude crunching under the soles of our feet. Whereas we were unable to suppress our feelings of bitter frostbite, we nonetheless had one goal in mind: to save the world from hunger and starvation!

Friendly supervisors greeted us upon arrival; one of them was Mr. Kelly, hardly a stranger and an awesome person to help us. All the volunteers were shown a video on sorting canned goods and were aptly trained for the task at hand. Missy Elliot's "Work it" resonated throughout the warehouse as we got down to business. And boy, did we "work it!" Cranking up Jamn' 94.5, we sorted and we lifted. All thirty-five of us separated into four clusters: 1st sorters, 2nd sorters, Quality Check, and lifters. The first group divided the salvageable goods from the damaged ones. The 2nd sorters afterwards made further inspection of these products and prearranged them into the appropriate categories. Subsequently, the QCs completed their round of inspections and laid the supplies neatly into clean boxes. The lifters, possessing a superhuman strength, hauled up these 40 to 80 pound boxes onto carts. The fruits of our labor, henceforth, would be distributed to the less fortunate.

Volunteers were informed, after the final count, that they had organized and salvaged over 2,000 pounds of food. Each helper had contributed more than forty meals to feed hungry families on Thanksgiving Day. Volunteers thus munched proudly on popcorn later on. Without a doubt, this was a great experience. As members of two distinctive clubs but the same student body, we came, we helped and we conquered. ASIA and Key Club members will be back next year so don't miss out!

Nov. 22, 2002 By Joanne Wong (II) & Louisa Choy (II)
Edited by James Zhang & Edna Chiu (II)
Photography by James Zhen (I)