LAMORINDA WEEKLY | CP families serve up kindness with a warm meal


Camino Pablo Elementary School students and families help prepare and serve dinner at St. Mary's Center in Oakland. Photo provided

Several Camino Pablo Elementary School families went to Oakland Jan. 29 to prepare and serve dinner at St. Mary's Center's Winter Emergency Shelter for homeless seniors. The volunteers prepared a heartwarming and nutritious meal from scratch. "Although we only had an hour to cook a vegetable side, grill chicken, cut fruit, and bake chocolate chip cookies for over 40 people, everyone, big and small, worked hand in hand and made magic happen," said coordinator Cathy Chang. "The food was delicious and many seniors asked for seconds until we ran out! The volunteers touched so many hearts at the dinner."

Since 1998, St. Mary's Center in Oakland has provided an emergency winter shelter, the only homeless shelter in the Bay Area exclusively for seniors, hosting up to 30 guests a night. To address Oakland's skyrocketing homelessness rates, St. Mary's Center opened the emergency winter shelter two weeks early this year. The ultimate goal of St. Mary's Center Senior Shelter programs is to help individuals find permanent housing.

"Special thanks to Moraga's volunteer-run garden farm, Camino Pablo Elementary Garden Club and Moraga residents, Bobbie Preston and Leslie Nuccio, for donating abundant vegetables and mushrooms to this meal service project," Chang said.

To learn more about Moraga School District Presidential Volunteer Service Awards, please check out https://www.moraga.k12.ca.us/pvsa.