judging others... thoughts from a 12 year old.

With the non profit I work for, I am so fortunate to be involved with some pretty incredible youth.

They range in ages, some as young as 5 or 6 years old all the way through seniors in high school.

Often times, these kids say things and I think... "wow!"

Many of them are intelligent and wise beyond their years.

{A little background} 

I work for an organization that helps youth to find areas of need in their communities (through guest speakers and partnerships with other agencies) and fulfill these needs through volunteering.  This means we have youth volunteers of all ages hand making food and feeding the homeless, working at local food closets, collecting food, toiletries, and clothing for people who need them, working along side other homeless youth from shelters, and so much more.  Our organization hopes to inspire compassion and a desire to be involved in their communities through hands on service learning.  We hope to empower them and give them the realization that they can make a difference.

Recently, I was interviewing a very vibrant 12 year old boy... Dylan.  He said something in his interview that really captured me.

While talking to Dylan, he said said at first he was struck by some of the people {homeless} he was serving.  He wondered how they had cell phones and bikes if they were homeless.  

He pondered why these people were here, if they were addicted to drugs, alcohol, committed a crime, or if they just have struggled financially.

At first, he said it really rubbed him wrong.  He felt unsure about it... and admittedly, I have felt this way before as well.

Then... he paused for a second, leaned his head in a little and thoughtfully said,

"but then I realized, my job isn't to judge or make guesses about any of these people.  Some people are just born into this but I don't need to judge them, I just need to help them."

And there you have it.  Wise words from the mouth of a 12 year old.

Here are some photos from our most recent homeless outreach:

Making more than 250 sandwiches is a lot of work!

So is separating 250 bags of chips!

 Greeting people and serving them home made sack lunches...

Helping others pick out toiletries, socks, or books from our drives.

photo courtesy Inga&Todd

Have a beautiful weekend!