Sixty-eight years ago, a reverend by the name of Fred Jordan founded a mission on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. His goal was to serve the homeless, as well as those in need of hope. To this man, these people were more than "Skid Row," they were his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Through Fred and his loving family, the goal would be reached and thousands of lives touched.
Today, the Reverend's son, Willie Jordan, runs the mission with his family. For the past twenty-one years, the Fred Jordan Mission has produced "The Back-to-School Giveaway" for children in need. Since its first year, the mission has served over one hundred thousand children living in poor conditions with food, school supplies, and clothing.
This year, I had the privilege to interview Mr. Jordan, and he couldn't stress to me enough the importance he found in his volunteers. He especially found the contribution of "his friends from Apple Valley Christian" to be significant and was ecstatic to to see us serving another year. He then began explaining that despite the current state of the economy , a team of approximately five hundred people come and help every year.
The volunteers this year were not just serving; they were making a difference. Children of all ages were receiving shoes, clothes, a good meal, and a complimentary haircut. The products and services given away were compliments of "The Back-to-School Giveaway" participants such as Foot Locker, In N Out, and Paul Mitchell's hair stylists from Citrus College.
From about 9:30 in the morning till 4 in the afternoon, our school, as well as the many other volunteers did various jobs contributing to the event. Not only were there fantastic dumpster dives, as well as security duty and children walk-throughs (taking a small child from the line through the lines of give-aways) for everyone to participate in, there were also jobs which can't be written about because they were far too disgusting. Serving others isn't always easy and by no means clean, but knowing you've done something good for another person is what makes the event such a success for all involved. It is an eye opener, and it serves as a sign to all of us to not take the blessings we have taken for granted. In the words of Willie Jordan, "The direction our country is going right now is by no means good, and to make sure I can make a difference, I'm going to do this 'til God returns."
-Tim Barnett, 11th grade
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