Jennifer Chapman A day at Focus On Renewal's community center is never the same as the day before and is never dull. Depending on the time of the week, as many as 100 or more people come through the center's doors over the course of a day. Most mornings (rain or snow, hot or cold), when I am one of the first to arrive at 8 a.m., there are already a small handful of folks waiting out front to be let in for their morning complimentary coffee. Some of the main activities I coordinate as community center manager include: bingo twice a week, food pantry hours twice a week and a daily free lunch. My most memorable day working at F.O.R., so far, would have to be Inauguration Day. Following the serving of lunch at noon, my supervisor, Sister Sarah Crotty, and I quickly set up some chairs around a small TV; its bunny ears in tune with one solitary channel featuring the much anticipated inauguration ceremony. There were twenty or so others who stuck around to watch, each of them very different than the other. There were African American people and caucasian people, there were seniors and people with disabilities, there were homeless men and women. I can only imagine what an outside observer would have thought of our mix-matched circle. While watching that old TV, I felt as if I truly belonged to something larger, which is sometimes difficult to comprehend while working within a small population like that of McKees Rocks, Pa. Not only did I feel part of a small community, but I also felt that my hard work at the center meant something. I was part of a greater good, a divine good. It was a rare feeling and a day that I will remember for the rest of my life. |
"Part of Something Larger"