By Amal Ali ('21)
Members of MCGP and SBHS MSA volunteering at the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen
On December 24, members from the Muslim Center of Greater Princeton (MCGP) and South Brunswick’s Muslim Student Association (SBHS MSA) volunteered at the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK).
TASK’s mission is to “feed those who are hungry in the Trenton area and offers programs to encourage self-sufficiency and improve the quality of life of its patrons.”
For the past 10 years on Christmas Eve, MCGP members have volunteered their time to package around 400 meals for families in the Trenton area. This year, volunteering began at 10 am as MCGP members and students arrived together to help provide meals for those who are hungry, and finished around 1 pm.
Imam Adeyinka Mendes, the religious leader at MCGP said, “We pray that the food serves as nourishment for our bodies, our minds, and our souls, and those who serve it, those who eat it gather together in the highest of heavens.”
Tasks included organizing toothbrushes and toothpaste into packages, creating packages with femine hygiene products, and serving 400 trays of food to the hungry.
MSA Vice President Junior Abdallah Ahson said, “Volunteering for me is a way to help impact others lives for the better. It allows me to take into account the things I should be thankful for, like food, because some families have a harder time getting it.”
MSA prides itself on volunteering in the community, and involving itself within the community.
Junior and volunteer Zoya Khurram said, “Volunteering to me has become so much more than just a school requirement. Opportunities like this allow me to see the perspective and struggles of people from all different backgrounds. It has helped me become more connected in a community, and view the impact a bunch of individuals can make.”