Serving Ribs, Beans, and Smiles

What's Summer without a BBQ!? On Friday, July 19th,  Four FurtherEd-ers were lucky to get invited to help at Common Ground's BBQ at The Christopher. Common Ground is a wonderful charity organization that houses the homeless or those very close to it, with on-site support services. David C, Micah, Mo, and myself got to meet the tenants of The Christopher and serve them deliciousness at our "battle stations". We met the dedicated workers of Common Grounds such as Michelle and Eduardo and understood more of their roles. Equipped with a DJ, the party had people on their feet. Even we were breaking out some moves while piling up the plates.

The tenants each had their journey of hardships before getting back on their feet at The Christopher. So to see them laughing and dancing with each other just showed us that no matter how bad life gets, focus on the positive and keep living life. To me, these individuals were superheroes to themselves. It's easy to fall but harder to get back up.

The party ended with a tour of The Christopher, which has a gorgeous rooftop garden (planted by the tenants) and gym. The rooms had great economical spaces. There were these paintings drawn by the tenants hanging on the walls; couldn't believe the talent they had. It was truly a pleasure for us to visit and hope for more opportunities to help. A special thanks to all the Common Grounds employees for making us feel welcomed!

Mo serving up drinks with a smile.

Behind The Scenes Shot

DC, Micah, & I at the battle stations!

Eduardo showing us the ropes!

Micah vs the Mac-N-Cheese!

DC being ambidextrous with the cornbread & potato salad!