On Friday, January 27, the Presbyterian Village North (PVN) Therapy Team filled a PVN bus and headed toward Downtown Dallas to spend a few hours of their day serving lunch at The Stewpot. The Stewpot, a ministry of First Presbyterian Church, offers a safe haven for homeless and at-risk citizens of Dallas, providing resources to help them with their basic needs as well as opportunities to improve their living situation. During a recent teammate gathering, the therapy group discussed finding ways to serve the greater community outside of PVN, and this ultimately led them to The Stewpot. PVN Director of Rehabilitation, Estee Cahani, organized the volunteer efforts and logistics for this tightly knit team.
“As a group, we felt inspired to do more for the community. Since it was our first time volunteering at The Stewpot, we didn’t know that to expect. It was humbling and such a positive experience to be able to serve the Dallas community,” shared teammates Adam Klocke, Karen Goins, Laura Benoy-Zuttre and Chris Nguyen.
During the lunch rush, the Therapy Team served up more than 200 trays of warm and nourishing food to a steady line of hungry guests. In addition to dishing out meals from the serving line, teammates distributed trays, refilled drinks and assisted with table clean up, while sharing smiles and love with everyone around. One teammate said the following when asked about the gratitude they felt while serving others, “It was a rewarding day. It also opened my eyes that no one is immune to homelessness.”
This was the first of several PVN groups to volunteer at The Stewpot, as PVN leadership and residents are scheduled to donate their time in the upcoming months. We are proud of the Therapy Team for leading the charge to broaden the Forefront Living mission “to make moments matter” for those in need in the greater Dallas community.
