Ayyah is a college student hosting a MobilePack event this June in Oak Lawn, Illinois. We asked her to share her perspective on hosting a MobilePack event.

We live in an environment where food is vital to our survival. Living in a well-developed country, I, just like many around me, forget that we are blessed with easy access to food. Other countries aren’t always given this blessing, whether it is due to poverty, war zones or land restrictions. Sharing a meal with someone will bring a smile to one’s face and fulfillment to one’s stomach.

I am an Arab American woman attending Benedictine Catholic University near Chicago. I am currently a junior, and want to share with you a little about one of the key courses that each student is required to take at Benedictine: Interdisciplinary Seminar.

This course is very dynamic in terms of course content. In the semester I took it, we discussed food around us and stewardship. As an initiative towards food stewardship, I volunteered at Feed My Starving Children at the Aurora facility.

I had been previously exposed to FMSC in high school because they would come and set up in our gymnasiums. We would all help out during our lunch and physical education breaks to pack food for the children. At that point, I had not realized that this was called a MobilePack.

Nonetheless, I was very fascinated with their efforts and the organization. Thus, I did research about the organization and their goals because I wanted to be a part of it.

I also wanted to make a difference in others’ lives and build bridges to connect people of different cultural and faith backgrounds. Hosting a MobilePack seemed like a perfect way to reach all of these goals.

It seemed like a daunting adventure, but I talked with some friends and we all decided it was an effort worth taking.

Not only would we benefit with it as a perfect opportunity to build our resumes, but it would help us grow as individuals and encourage our peers and community to share our gifts through the funding and packing of these meals.

After making our decision, we knew that we needed to better understand role from the hosts’ perspective.

To further this inquiry, we attended another MobilePack in November. At this event, we asked many questions to better understand how things ran and how the MobilePack was set up.

To our amazement, the MobilePack consisted of many steps which were clearly listed and easy to follow. We then began contacting the local FMSC headquarters to set up a MobilePack event that we would co-host.

Our event, the Sharing Our Gifts MobilePack, is scheduled take place June 29 – 30 at the Oak Lawn Community Pavilion.

Five hundred volunteers of multiple cultures and faiths will come together to pack more than 100,000 meals to feed starving children around the world.

We are currently very focused and working hard on raising more than $22,000 to fund the meals that will be packed at this event.

Food is one of our basic necessities of life and without it, we are devastated.

There are many ways to be involved in the fight against hunger. Whether you donate your time or your money, every effort is worth celebrating.

Get involved in the Sharing Our Gifts MobilePack

Host a MobilePack event