Written by: Rei Pham, Miss Photogenic & Miss Ao Dai 2016
Early April 29, 2016, Alex, Y, and Rei paid the Merced Rescue Mission in Downtown, Merced a visit. Although it was early (6:30 AM!), they were ready to serve breakfast and hand out blankets for the residents of the shelter.
Upon arrival, they were greeted and given a tour of the shelter. It is rather a small place, but they were all very surprised to learn that the shelter houses about 60,000 residents per year! They learned that typically, residents get their lunch immediately after breakfast and head out for the day to find work.
When it was time for breakfast, Alex, Y, and Rei split up the duties. Y was the milk-pourer, Alex was the cereal passer, and Rei was the muffin lady. Each resident was given a bowl of cereal and half of a muffin, and some came back for a second round. When breakfast was over, Rei moved onto handing out lunch while Y and Alex passed out blankets. The residents were very happy people, which made the girls feel very welcomed. Not only that, some even cracked jokes! After that, Alex, Y, and Rei went back into the kitchen to prep more lunch packages for the next day. It was a productive morning and this opportunity definitely reminded them to always be grateful. To learn more about the Merced Rescue Mission in Merced, please visit http://www.mercedrescuemission.org/about-us