It was one of the busiest nights of the year for St. Vincent de Paul's Family Evening Meal and Dream Center. Hundreds of people flooded the dining room. While families dined on warm meals, their kids flocked about, playing games in the Dream Center and enjoying the festivities and action all around.
Yet, in the midst of this pandemonium, one incredibly generous volunteer slowed down to focus on the curiosity of a child. The volunteer picked up a little booked and started flipping through the pages to show the young boy what was in it. It piqued the boy's interest, and he ended up taking the book off to examine its contents for himself. He might not have discovered this interest if it weren't for the extra moment of care and attention the volunteer paid just to him.
Every night the Dream Center offers these small moments thanks to the hard work of its staff and volunteers. Kids get help on homework, complete educational activities, and find their creativity and news talents. It helps them grow and thrive. Sometimes, along the way, they find something — maybe a book — that speaks just to them. And every night the volunteers get the chance to share and spark that moment of discovering something new.
