Last week, I spent my Friday morning talking about Hope’s Corner, and my Saturday morning serving at Hope’s Corner. On Friday, I had the privilege of presenting to a group of knowledgeable and empathetic elementary school students about the work of Hope’s Corner, a non-profit that meets the basic needs of hungry and homeless folks in downtown Mountain View. The Pinewood principal serves at the Hope’s Corner showers a few times a month and so, she decided to focus the school’s outreach efforts this winter on collecting items to be shared with the guests at Hope’s Corner. Watching the attentive faces of even the youngest students as I shared the stories of some Hope’s Corner regulars and seeing the enthusiasm when we started discussing the specific collection items gave me great hope for the future. I can imagine these well-educated and well-grounded young people growing up to be the next generation of social justice warriors who give voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless so that everyone in this valley can flourish.
And then my alarm went off on Saturday, well before sunrise. I realized that no matter how well polished or well-received my presentation was the day before, there were still people in need who were counting on volunteers like me to show up and provide for those needs. Until those students are ready to take the torch, the work of Hope’s Corner is ours. And so the march continues. The two feet of love, charity and justice, alternating back and forth toward the promised land in which all people really do flourish. Some days we get to teach, some days we get to serve. Some days we get to talk about the work, some days we get to do the work. Every day, we get to live with the intention of bringing more love, more light, and more justice into our world. And so we march on.
-Phil Pompei
Phil is a high school teacher and coach. When he’s not educating or coaching young people he is engaged in volunteer work and community building. He and his wife Sami are excited to soon be getting a cat.