KADPA Donation

On November 20th of 2021, all members of KHFSS and extra volunteers worked at Fresh World in Springfield, Virginia to fundraise $1,000.

We worked from 9:30 AM to 7:30 PM in two rotating groups. One group packaged customers’ items in plastic grocery bags while the other group re-stocked and organized items on the grocery shelves and cleaned the store.

The jobs were simple and easy to learn; however, laboring for hours and hours to catch up with the constant flow of groceries was exhausting. As the leader, I checked on the volunteers to see if they were doing well on their tasks. I was impressed by how they enthusiastically and excellently undertook their jobs, even though it was the first time for all of them.

The event was for the purpose of fundraising for our next activity, but I believe that in addition, all the participants were able to grow through this experience:

• This was a unique experience which helped me realize that when asking for an item's location, I should not only be polite, but also show appreciation. – Jaewon Jang

• I was surprised to see people getting ready to celebrate the holiday and overcoming emotional hardships due to the COVID pandemic. I could feel them smiling under their face masks. – Sunwoo Lee

• Since Fresh World is an international grocery store where people from different cultures visit to shop, I got to interact with diverse people while working. Every customer was distinct. Some were very kind and polite, while others seemed to be in a rush. – Ihan Do, Sean Yim

The members observed various customers in an activity of their daily lives and understood the perspective of workers. They gained empathy and communication skills that cannot be taught in school. They also saw how people in our community feel about and react to the pandemic.

The owner of Fresh World thanked us for helping the mart run smoothly and helping the customers have a better time shopping, as it was the busy Thanksgiving season. Members of KHFSS thanked the owner for allowing us to work in return for the money. We also thanked the manager who checked in with us often and made sure we stayed hydrated.

On December 4th, members of KHFSS gathered to write a thank-you letter to the owner of Fresh World. We also wrote a letter to the president of the Korean Heritage Foundation for giving us volunteering opportunities and supporting our activities financially. We donated the $1,000 to Virginia KADPA (Korean American Disabled People’s Association).

“Overall, I believe helping out at Fresh World was an incredibly pleasant and unique experience. I enjoyed helping out the mart and the customers and am proud to be have been a part of the KADPA donation.” – Jaewon Jang