School Works

“To others who are interested in reaching out with the lunch buddies program I would say that my time having lunch at Sam Houston is something I look forward to every week. As a professional and grad student I spend most of my time working on my own goals. Having the time with my lunch buddy is such a bright spot in my day because I get to focus on serving someone else.
During lunchtime, I see the students greet their volunteers with such warmth and enthusiasm. They are truly hungry for someone to listen to them and care about their lives. Its amazing to think what a big impact we can make on these young people in only 30 minutes a week.” –Kathleen

“My lunch buddy and I had a rough start. a friend would correctly notice that when I found her, she looked like she was in trouble and walked out with her head down. Every week she asked “What time is it. How much longer?” After about 4 months, the attitude started to change. The questions changed to “What time is it. Oh good, we have more time.” (her dad is in the military, maybe they are very focused on time in their family). The stories that she alluded to, but early on she said she didn’t want to tell me, she started to share. She also started asking me questions, questions about my life, but also about her life. “Why does my brother want to leave us and go to college?” Also, we started laughing. One week we laughed so hard that sweet tea came out of her nose and mouth. We found things in common and the time felt much lighter and more joyful. She also said that she wanted to continue meeting next year, which brought me a lot of joy. I can’t think of any specific moments in our story that I know that her life has been touched, but I am encouraged by the way that we grew together throughout the year and I really started to look forward to meeting with her. I continue to pray for her and hope that she sees glimpses of God’s love through these times of laughter and sharing.”  –Lauren

“If you can even by a  remote possibility positively effect a young person’s life with 1 hour a week, it is more than worth the time”   –Bill

“I gained so much from working with my buddy this year and was so glad he did so well on his reading test.  I felt like I made a difference and know he made a difference in my life.”  –Natalie