Boston’s Pine Street Inn houses people in need, but they also house big dreams – like Abdule and his dream of running his own sandwich shop.
The Pine Street Inn is the largest resource for homeless men and women in New England, but to us they’re something more than that. They are one of the neighbors that we pass by every day on our way to work. So we did what any good neighbor would do- we asked if there was anything we could do to help.
As a part of our Helping Hands initiative, we chose to partner up with Pine Street to do monthly service dates at the Inn. Last week was our first date, and we helped prepare dinner and sandwiches. Here, we got the chance to work along with Abdule and Jimmy making pork skewers, and learn about how Abdule wants to open up his own sandwich shop. The Pine Street makes his dream possible. They reach out to more than 1,600 homeless men and women every day, and provide them with services such as permanent supportive housing, job training and placement and emergency shelter. However, the Inn depends on volunteers to assist with food preparation and meal service every day.
“We are very excited about our new partnership with BzzAgent employees and look forward to their monthly service dates at the Inn. Corporate partnerships are vital to the work we do”, says Scottie Wait, Director of Volunteer Programs at Pine Street.
Pine Street established their corporate service program to provide an educational experience for volunteer groups- as well as a chance to help improve the lives of Pine Street’s guests and tenants. Service opportunities offer information and insights about the realities of homelessness. We are sending teams from BzzAgent that get the opportunity to work alongside Pine Street’s food service trainees and directly serve their guests.
“We’re delighted about this new partnership!” says Wait.
And so are we. Helping Hands is dunnhumby’s way of making a difference by giving back to the communities in which we live. Our first Helping Hands initiative at BzzAgent was earlier this summer with Courageous Sailing.
Check out the cool pics from this event and stay tuned for more Helping Hands to come.
Want to do something to help? Learn more about the corporate service program and volunteer opportunities at www.pinestreetinn.org.
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I think thats a wonderful idea. Ive been homeless and staying with friends for now and I know how this must feel. God bless them!! This is a great opportunity for them all I only wish there was something like that around here!