Larry, a leader of the Redwood City Catholic Worker, shows us around the food distribution center during our first drop-off on May 20.
Our first drop-off for A Step Forward was at the Redwood City Catholic Worker House on May 20, 2023. While dropping off our 140 pairs of shoes, we met Larry and Susan, who are the brains behind the operation.
The Catholic Worker House, which began in 1975, helps the community in a variety of ways. These include feeding the less fortunate, providing clothing for those that can’t afford it, spreading religious messages promoting faith and well-being, and even offering housing to low-income families, immigrants, and teenagers.
Upon reaching the house, we sorted and separated out all of the shoes, and chatted with the numerous assistants and volunteers helping out. We saw that this group has created a flourishing community and has clearly supported tons of people, exemplified by all the people who came by and grabbed shoes or other items of need while we were there.
After dropping off our shoes, Larry took us through the city of Redwood City to show us the “underbelly,” or where the less fortunate reside. He took us to a couple blocks where we saw the location of the day laborer headquarters. This location was used to house eight men and be a place of sanction for local day workers. Thanks to this location, day laborers no longer have to worry about being arrested by local authorities.
“The Catholic Worker House can be a model for the rest of the world. Also, our society will prosper if we as human beings start to value human life over financial gain,” Larry said. We saw in our tour that while these people were not living in the most pristine conditions or exquisite homes, they enjoyed their life and were appreciating the jobs they had.
The next stop that Larry took us to was the kitchen that is used to distribute meals to the less fortunate. They receive produce from a produce terminal in San Bruno and deliver it to Redwood City by truck. Larry explained to us that he was the truck driver prior to experiencing a major back injury. Inside the kitchen, we were able to see the gears and wheels behind the operation. From prep stations to dish cleaning, volunteers were at work preparing for the incoming wave of hungry people.
Visiting the Catholic Worker House helped us gain a sense of humble appreciation for the life we live. Seeing the lives that the less fortunate are living gives us a different perspective on life. As 16 and 17-year-old high schoolers born and raised in the Bay Area, we are masked from the reality of the world. From our experiences traveling around Redwood City, we experienced and resonated with the lives of people working behind the scenes to make the community a better place to live in.
The following week, on May 28, we dropped off another set of shoes, this time 270 pairs, this time with the help of Susan, and Aurora, another friendly volunteer. We feel very grateful to have achieved this large number during our second week of collecting, bringing our total number of shoes donated to 410. A Step Forward is only beginning, and our growth over the past few weeks has given us confidence that we can achieve great things in the community.
Going forward, we hope to donate around 150 pairs of shoes a week to Redwood City Catholic Worker and other like-minded homeless shelters or charitable organizations. We hope that our impact will help provide the less fortunate with an item that is a necessity, and also boost the morale and overall spirit of the community.
We hope that if you have any shoes that are unused but still wearable, you could consider donating them to our cause. We make sure that every pair of shoes goes to someone that genuinely needs them, thanks to our partnership with Redwood City Catholic Worker. Please contact us through email or in the comments if you are interested.
Overall, this is the first of a series of newsletters we hope to publish once a week, updating readers on our progress to collect more shoes, donate and give back to the community, and grow as an organization within schools and communities. One of our main goals is to become a true non-profit organization and develop a website to reflect our mission and achievements. Thank you for supporting us so far, and we look forward to growing as an organization with the assistance of everyone in the community.
With regards,
Myles Hu and the A Step Forward Team