West Deptford Action Team Swings Right into Action

With 20-plus volunteer projects planned for the 2015-16 school year, the West Deptford (NJ) Action Team hit the ground running and completed two of them before the end of September.

On Sept. 17, seven Captains served dinner to homeless people at Cathedral Kitchen in Camden, NJ. The following week, 22 of the student volunteers spent their afternoons joining in and supporting activities at Brightview Assisted Living in Woodbury, N.J.

“Our volunteering does not just mean a lot to Cathedral Kitchen, but to the clients who come in as well,” one of the Action Team captains said. “We help in the kitchen, serving meals, bagging meals, and even trash duty. When you are serving people or even bagging their food, the clients are telling you how much they appreciate the time that we put into volunteering.

“We also take great pride in what we do — even if we are back in the kitchen and you do not always see our faces. After we are done volunteering, we feel great that we were able to help out some people. We enjoy every minute that we are there and putting a smile on the client’s face is what makes our day.”

At Brightview Assisted Living, some Captains helped residents participate in their exercise program by going for a walk outside while others played music and sang songs with the patients in the Alzheimer’s unit. Everyone came together and played a few games of BINGO before it was time to leave.

“Action team offers me a unique opportunity to reach out to my community in ways that I wouldn’t be able to if I weren’t involved,” Captain Camryn Arseneau said. “The feeling of pride and happiness that occurs after giving back to the community is overwhelming and extremely rewarding.”

To check out photos from these events, and any other Action Team events please visit our gallery.