On Saturday, August 11th, Steven Xu, Class 4, organized a volunteer day for the TEAK Alumni Association (TAA) at St. Joesph’s Soup Kitchen in Greenwich Village. The group helped with set up, food prep, serving, and clean up. Over 350 meals were served to New Yorkers in need.
Here Steven shares his thoughts on the day and the importance of community service:
” Although community service was introduced as an obligation to us TEAK fellows as teenagers, I found myself appreciating and seeking it out because I really felt connected with the communities I was working with, and had developed great friendships throughout my life in the process. Volunteering was something we bonded over (and complained about) as kids, and I think today, a day of service was a great way for us to get together and share how our values have evolved as TEAK alums. Saturday was a great opportunity for me to laugh and reconnect with alums I hadn’t seen in over a decade, and I’m really hoping we’re able to do one again soon. This is more on the optics side, but non-TEAK volunteers were super curious about what TEAK does, and I think it was especially impactful for them to hear it and see it from beneficiaries of the program, continuing to live the TEAK values, years after graduating. “
Thanks to the alumni who participated and to Steven for making this happen!