#ysop

Ysop – Info II

Ysop Hyssopus officinalis

Volkstuemliche Namen: Hysop, Ispenkraut, Weinespenkraut, Eisewig, Eisop, Kirchenseppli, Klosterysop, Joseph, Ysopkraut, isop, Josop, Ispen, Eisenkraut, Bienenkraut, Masskraeutel, Essigkraut, Ibsche

Heimat: Der Ysop stammt urspruenglich aus Suedeuropa und Vorderasien. Er kommt auch in Suedrussland und bis zum Altai wildwachsend vor. In der Natur findet man ihn an sonnigen,…

468 meals served on Sat, September 28, 2013 at St. Joseph's Soup Kitchen in Greenwich Village

Meet our official volunteer group for the day, YSOP (Youth Service Opportunity Project), comprised of students from Loyola and Marymount HS.  

They stand next to the menu sign they worked on that showed the fruits of their labor in food prep: chicken pasta, salad, fruit cup, bread, coffee and lemonade.

Newly minted chef from ICE (Institute of Culinary Education), Matthew, prepared the meal along with a crew of volunteers. 

This past week i went on an alternative winter break...which means i went to Washington, D.C. for a week with my a group from my school and worked with an organization called, Youth Service Opportunities Project (YSOP). They assigned us to work at different soup kitchens and with other programs that worked with people in poverty. It was an amazing experience that made me feel like i accomplished something while down there.

I've always been around homeless people and lived in poverty so I thought i knew everything about what it means to be poor, but in actuality i only knew the basics. There is more depth to being homeless, something i thought was a simple task ( you stand outside and ask for money) but those people that i met once had their whole life together. 

It wasn't until i met a man, who used to work as a bodyguard for the president, that changed my mind on how to treat homeless people. He explained his story to us and how much pain he experienced not only physically but emotionally. He told us, "The meanest thing someone has ever done to me while being homeless is, 'I was sitting down next to a bus stop and said Good morning to a lady...she turned around saw my face and ignored me.' It broke my hurt and i hope you guys never experience that."

It only took those words and that story to change my mind about homeless people. From that night on, I always smiled/greeted every homeless person i came in contact with. No one should ever feel less than human, and i for one wasn't going to impose those feelings onto someone.

I am grateful for the people i met on the trip and the service i provided. If there is something i want people to know about giving back is to always go into any service project with an open head and if you're looking for a place to give back, search for shelters near your location and try to emerge yourself in the situation because after all how can one empathize with someone unless you've experienced it.