When the newly opened Lord’s Diner in Pittsburg, Kansas, asked businesses and organizations for volunteers to take turns serving guests one evening a month, there was no trouble getting a response from Watco.
Numerous Team members offered to help.
The Lord’s Diner serves an evening meal 365 nights a year, just as the original Lord’s Diner in Wichita, Kansas, does. Operated by Catholic Diocese, it relies on volunteers to serve food, pour drinks, bus tables, and clean up.
Most of all, said Pittsburg Lord’s Director Matt O’Malley, the volunteers should make those who seek a meal at the diner feel welcome. The first start was referring to them as “guests,” and avoiding the term “soup kitchen.”
“We’re responding to Christ’s call to serve the hungry,” O’Malley said. “No questions asked, no proving that they are poor enough. Just come in, sit down, and be a part of our community. Enjoy dignity and feeling valued.”
The diner is attracting a diverse range of backgrounds. A few have been senior citizens or widows or widowers who find it hard to cook for just themselves at home, or who want the company of others when they eat. Some, including several families with children, “are well-aware they are working poor,” O’Malley said. Others have no home at all.
Those who volunteer also benefit, O’Malley noted.
Among them: Payroll Specialist Cindy VanBecelaere, who took her 18-year-old daughter, Madison, and 16-year-old son, Tate, to serve in February.
“I felt like it was a great experience and was glad that my children were there with me. I would do it again,” VanBecelaere said.
Corporate Receptionist Charlene Huskey said she definitely plans to help again.
“I felt like I was placed in a position that allowed me to be my best,” said Huskey, who gave guests their tray and silverware, told each person that Watco was happy to see them there to eat, and arranged for assistance from another volunteer if they needed help carrying their tray or needed a cart.
Engineering Administrative Assistant Teri Kinyon worked in the kitchen, and noted that guests there were “all smiles and excited for the meal that they were receiving.”
“It was a very moving experience to able to help the people in our Community by giving of our time to make their lives better,” Kinyon said.
AR/Treasury Coordinator Nancy Dickey said her experience was especially interesting.
“I made a connection with my first cousin who I have not seen in years,” she said. “He was a lot older than me and took a very different path in life. He did not know who I was until I introduced myself and then I sat down talked about family he hadn’t seen in years. It felt good to help.”
Accounting Assistant Gwen Foster, who volunteered with her husband, also enjoyed the experience.
“It was heart touching to see the gratefulness in some eyes, and all were so nice,” she said. “But it was also sad to see the families that needed this, and the single older folks who were there alone.”
One older gentleman who had lost his wife was happy to have some place to go where there were other people, he told her.
“I was happy to listen to him. Sometimes that is all we need, someone to listen,” she said. “I felt very humble afterwards, and so thankful for my blessings that I have — sometimes we all forget how much we have and need to be reminded.”
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