The first volunteer thing I ever did was serving meals at the homeless shelter in Uptown. There is a literal waiting list to get to serve meals to the homeless which comically includes probably every single frat and sorority in the city. Some days I would volunteer to serve and just stand around because there were too many volunteers and someone just needed to get out of the way to make space. I remember talking to my mom one day and said “I don't feel like this is really making that big of a difference.” She made fun of me and said, “Correct. Did you expect the seas to part for you like Moses?” I laughed and admitted, “Yes, kind of.”

At the shelter though I met a guy named Eric Howze who runs an organization called No Hero Left Behind whose mission is: To end Veteran homelessness and reduce Veteran suicide by helping, honoring, & housing our Nation's Veterans.

We joked about how serving meals was pointless (a good gesture though) and he invited me to help out with a drive to assemble backpacks that had essential toiletries in them and warm winter socks and distribute them to the homeless.

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