A few weeks ago, my wife and I spent a Sunday afternoon with a group of children in San Jose. Many of these kids were homeless, all were from low income families.

When we arrived, we went to help prepare lunch for the families.  Here’s the thing – even though we volunteered to make lunch for these families – the kids did most of the work.   What was going on here?  Sunday Friends was empowering these children.

All we did was supervise them and give them tickets for their work. The tickets were currency that they earned for their efforts.   At the end of the day, they used these tickets to buy items at the “Treasure Chest,” a store full of items donated by the community.  Later in the day, while some children shopped at the store, I worked with others with flash cards to improve their English and math skills.

We had a wonderful time working with these families.  It was great to see these kids (and their parents) obtain school binders or a sweater or diapers or a doll – items that they otherwise could not afford.  Even better, it was great to see their pride – in their contributions to the program and in their having earned the items they were buying.  They were not receiving “handouts.”  Moreover, they were not “clients” or recipients of our volunteer services.  Rather, all of us were working together.

This is the vision that Sunday Friends is realizing each week – providing a supportive environment for homeless and low income families to learn and practice effective social and economic life skills.  Children and parents work together with volunteers, improving self-confidence, pride, work ethic and family unity.

David Waksberg
Palo Alto