A tape gun. Exhilarating music. And food for ninety-six children for an entire year.

Last Friday I volunteered for Feed My Starving Children, a non-profit organization that strives to distribute food to children in developing nations. I not only appreciated the significant impact the organization has had, but I also enjoyed the upbeat and exciting environment I experienced while packing food.

On a whim I offered to help with packing and lifting boxes of food after the leader of the program asked for volunteers to help with “heavy lifting.” I was curious what this would involve. In under thirty minutes, my packing partner and I learned how to use a tape gun and pack the food properly. I thought the tape gun was fun to use. The radio filled the room with music. It seemed easy…

At first we only had a few boxes. I scaled and labeled. He shut each box closed and stacked it on the pile. We were fine. I loved the music.

Five minutes later… Boxes arrived impatiently at our table waiting for the scale. We were at three tape guns, three people, and a new Sharpie. The music had escalated from a smooth classic to an exhilarating rock song. We had to move quickly. It was exciting and engaging. Almost like a game.

All of us taped and scaled and packed boxes. Our system had become fluid, but we were an intelligent machine. If the scale was free I snatched a tape gun. If the scale was full, my teammates helped me catch up.

By the end of the shift, all the volunteers gathered and we learned about our impact. We had packed enough food to feed ninety-six children for an entire year in roughly a couple of hours. At the same time, actually packing the food was enjoyable and learning about the wonderful work Feed My Starving Children has done was inspiring.

I would like to volunteer for Feed My Starving Children again as its mission is very important and I learned about teamwork and an influential organization. I also enjoyed the exciting atmosphere during the volunteer event.