San Diego -- The Single Marine Program helps service members live a better life by planning recreational, social and other activities that offer service members the opportunity to participate and help their local communities.
Marines and sailors from the area helped Father Joe’s Village and the Saint Vincent De Paul’s homeless shelter feed the homeless, Nov. 11.
Father Joe’s Villages and its partner agencies St. Vincent de Paul Village are Southern California’s largest residential homeless services providers. Their mission is to empower people to achieve self-sufficiency. The two agencies prepare up to 4,000 meals and provide care for nearly 1,500 individuals daily. The organizations’ mission is made possible only through the efforts of staff, volunteers, and generous public and private donors.
Marines helped the kitchen staff prepare plates comprised of pizza, chicken tenders and vegetables. Other Marines and sailors passed out drinks, handed the plates to all of the clients and served sides to the meal like pasta salad and tuna.
“I love doing this, it makes me feel whole. I like knowing that I am giving back to the community,” said Cpl. Nallely A. Lopez-Escobedo, with Expeditionary Warfare Training Group, Pacific.
Marines, who volunteered through the Single Marine Program, help out Saint Vincent De Paul’s homeless shelter the first Monday of every month. Marines have volunteered for the past two years, according to Joshua P. Davis, MCRD San Diego SMP Coordinator.
“It’s always good to give back to a city like San Diego,” said Davis, a native of Atlanta, GA. “The city of San Diego does a lot for service members so it’s our way of giving back.”
The single Marine program has three different types of community service activities such as feeding the homeless, habitat for humanity and beach clean-up.
"Its good to have Marines go out there and show people and the community that we do other things than Marine (activities)," said Cpl. Marvel Thompson from MCRD San Diego Saint Vincent De Paul’s cafeteria serves three full meals a day to their clients. During lunch anyone can come eat. Feeding the homeless is only a small token for the service members to show their appreciation for all that the city does for them. They encourage more people to come out and do the same.
“I think more people should come out and do this with us,” said Lopez-Escobedo, a native of San Jose, Calif. “Helping people is always a good thing.”