Feeding the homeless in Washington, D.C.

"On the first day at a soup kitchen, we were organized into different stations -- I chopped onions while others did salad prep. Another day, we loaded up food in vans and drove out to parks and other locations where there are a lot of homeless people, and we handed out sandwiches and soup. Volunteering changes your perspective and opens your eyes to things you weren't aware of -- like how many different kinds of people are homeless. Other students come back from spring break and talk about how drunk they were. I was talking with some of the guys from my trip, and we felt we had so much more fun. Most of the homeless are so thankful you're there, and they welcome you. They really appreciate what you're doing." -- Ryan Balding, 29, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin