On December 23, 2020, I continued my volunteer work with New York Cares . This time, the project involved packing food bags for distribution with the West Side Campaign Against Hunger , Food Bank For New York City , and St. Paul & St. Andrew Church . This high-volume program serves thousands of New Yorkers every year in Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx.

The day was physically demanding as I had to lift several bags of potatoes and onions weighing 50 lbs each. However, my daily weight training paid off, and I was able to handle the task efficiently. I had worked out with my fitness trainer Ion “Julian” Stanciu for an hour earlier the same morning, so this contributed to another two hours of working out for a total of three hours for the day.

Just like the previous day , I met some wonderful, kind, and good people. The sense of community and shared purpose was truly inspiring. I also earned some groceries to take home, a small but meaningful reward of food for the hard work.