Family-friendly pop music filled the gym at St. Theresa School in Ashburn as hundreds of adults and children donning hairnets measured, poured, and packaged thousands of meals. Seven balloons forming the number “1,000,000” hovered above the gym’s stage, motivating the volunteers.
St. Theresa Church in Ashburn hosted its 10th annual meal packing event Nov. 15 just before the conclusion of the Diocesan Week of Service. The meal packing was a part of (You)th vs. Hunger, a food packing ministry in connection with nonprofit Cross Catholic Outreach. This year, the parish planned to pack more than 125,000 meals, surpassing 1 million meals packed in total by the parish.
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge and Father James C. Hudgins, pastor, joined families in packing meals. Kids chatted with Bishop Burbidge as he measured and packed bags with fortified beans, vegetables, and rice.
Families joining together in service reflects the spirit of the Diocesan Week of Service, Bishop Burbidge said. “Let’s highlight what it means to be in communion, to do this together,” he said. “You get joy when you serve, and that’s why there’s joy in this gymnasium.”
Teen Austin Baron, a competitor on the TV show “American Ninja Warrior,” has volunteered for the ministry since he was 12. “When I came to the meal packing events when I was little, I learned that (millions of) people go to bed hungry each night, and that the meals I was packing with my own hands would be the only food that someone else has to eat (all day),” he said. “That really motivated me to do something to help them.”
Baron started a nonprofit, Knot Perfect, making handmade dog toys in exchange for donations to (You)th vs. Hunger. When he later qualified for “American Ninja Warrior,” Baron took the cause to TV. “I went two times on NBC’s ‘American Ninja Warrior’ and advocated for an end to world hunger. And all the donations I collect go to feed the hungry around the world,” he said.
Several shifts of volunteers worked throughout the day to surpass the 1 million-meal goal. As the noon shift assembled, Bishop Burbidge offered a blessing. “Lord, we ask you to watch over and to embrace in your love those who are hungry and sick and suffering. May they know how close you are to them, and may God bless all your work today, everyone,” he prayed.
Father Hudgins surveyed the hundreds of young volunteers — some as young as 5 — hurrying around the gym. “It’s not just good that we’re giving food to the poor. It’s not just good that we are carrying out a corporal work of mercy. It’s good that we’re sharing the faith of these young people in a way that’s active and gets them engaged in their faith, and that really sticks with them,” he said.
Parish coordinator Rachel Revelle agreed: “I tell my kids, ‘We were put on this earth to serve other people. If you’re not serving, what are you doing?’ ”
