Phil Hargis – A Man Of Many Interests

My First Day at the DC Central Kitchen

After spending an amazing day with the kids at the Capernaum Camp last summer, I decided that one of my primary New Year’s resolutions this year would be to do some kind of volunteer work once a month. After January flew by, I was already one down and need to play catch up. So, in early February, I took 2 days off of work and scheduled a trip to visit the Ward 57 at Walter Reed Hospital and deliver them some Rock Band gear and show them how to play and then on Thursday, Crissy came down from New York and we made a date to go over to the DC Central Kitchen to help prepare meals for some hungry folks in the city. And go figure, snow postponed the trip to Walter Reed and a plumbing malfunction forced a cancellation for our volunteer shift at the Kitchen.

A week or so later, I got back online and booked myself a date to head back down to the Kitchen, March 3rd….today. They ask you to get there 15 minutes early so they can give you a quick run down on what’s going on for the day. After parking on 2nd street NW, at a broken meter, I knew that DCs finest would be issuing me a fresh parking ticket in no time as a memento of my good deed for the day. Nothing was going to stop me and I shuffled my way around the outside, across the street and through a gravel parking lot to what I believed to be the DC Central Kitchen. After wandering around, clueless, of where I was supposed to enter, a helpful stranger asked me what I was looking for and he pointed me into the secret waiting room.

After 15 minutes or so of standing around, Carolyn Parham, the volunteer coordinator came scampering in and apparently recognzied everyone there except for me. She stands us up, marches us over to these lockers like we used in high school gym class….handed everyone hair nets….and everyone scattered as I sat there with my hands in my pocket with no idea what I was supposed to be doing. She could tell, so she came over and gave me a quick 5 minute rundown of everything they do there from preparing meals, to a 12 week culinary instruction course for qualified candidates, to catering for private events with their catering group “Fresh Start”.

I was introduced to Donnie and he was to be my culinary lead for the day and I was led down the food prep line to a giant tu of 500 carrots. He showed me how to peel a carrot and 5 seconds later I was shaving away…..and shaving….and shaving….kind of near me were 2 other helpers…Andrew and “E.R.”….then 5 or 10 minutes later another vibrant volunteer was escorted to help me put a dent into this tub of carrots…and a lovely and cheerful Irani young lady named Farnoush was now my shaving partner. If you’ve ever shaved down 500,000 carrots you know how mindless this activity can be…so there is plenty of time to find out her life’s story….and oh boy what a great story I got.

Farnoush is a role model for anyone. She told me she had been laid off from her job last August and had decided that while she was unemployed that she would volunteer her free time to work with many of the local charities….and she knew most of them…and when she heard of the others…she was anxious to try them. She was talking about gathering clothes to give to the homeless or donate to the DC Central Kitchen…and practically ridiculing her friends and others…in a very charming way…for not donating their unused clothes to charity. She told me how she had moved from Iran to Canada and ultimately to the United States and Washington DC in 2002. She said that of all the places she has lived….that Washington DC was the greatest placed and had it all. I could not argue with her at all there…and kept on listening to the every next word and story she spoke was of intense interest to me. She talked about her leader back in Iran, about the Mullahs, about her family, about her last trip back there, and about her job. She was an amazing woman, a true role model, and she deserves her dream job as soon as possible. I am going to help her find work. And whilst we were chatting it up and shaving it down….we were joined by another special young man, Kyle.

Kyle was just arriving from Georgetown Day School or Washington Day School….I wasn’t quite sure…but he was here for a class assignment. He was probably 14. As part of the curriculum at this school, the students, he explained, are required to go twice a week to perform volunteer acts of charity. I was thinking…what a great idea…to bad no public schools do this. He went on to desribe a list of about 10 charites his school allows for volunteer opportunities…and the opps were in 1 of 3 different categories. 1. food and meal prep, 2. working with younger kids or children, 3. working with elderly folks. It was so refreshing to be around high school students as I just never am anymore. It brought back some good memories, but none of community service. When I was his age, my mom was always doing something for others. She often times tried to involve me and I remember despising it and wish I could have had a better appreciation of it and I am sure a program like this would have helped anyone realized the rewards that can be gained for everyone when you are serving others.

Kyle came and went in what seemed like an hour and I said “good bye” to my new found friend and struck up a little conversation with Andrew. First off, Andrew reminded me of good buddy Rob Bader….spitting image of him….but this kid a machine. He could shave potatoes at 100 mph and shred a head of cabbage in 3 seconds flat. He never stopped going for anything…not even 5 minutes for coffee or water break. Andrew had been separated from his college buddies he was visiting DC with from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH. While most college kids are off to Panama City, Lake Havasu or even Cancun….the wonderful students at St. Anselm College are required to spend their spring bring completing 16 hours of community service in various cities around the country….totally awesome. Turns out Andrew and I had everything in common. He was studying finance and economics and was extremely interested in interning with the Federal government and a possible career with them…including a possible move to DC after graduation. He was from somewhere in Maine and being from that area was a huge snowboarder….something I have gotten into the past couple of years….and since he was from Maine….he was a huge New England / Boston sports fan. he seemed to be especially in to hockey and he even played it in Maine. It turns out that good old Sidney Crosby used to practice in the same rank where Andrew would practice and though not friends…he had seen him a million times and had all kinds of cool, signed stuff from Crosby before his famous NHL and Olympic days. Andrew was a great guy and we could’ve hung out all day. I gave him my info and I want to help this guy find a good internship this summer, if I can.

As you can see, I was introduced to 3 extraordinary individuals today in a mere 3 hours of doing something that hopefully went a long way to help others. I am vowing to go back to the DCCK and make this a part of my monthly (at least) routine. This is not even to mention all the other awesome students from St. Anselm, the other volunteers, including an attorney from Maryland, members of the Coast Guard and of course the amazing staff they have down there working in the kitchen. Those guys were obviously very special people with a commitment to spend every day of their lives helping and feeding others. The shift is capped off by the awesome chefs in the kitchen serving you up a big plate of the lunch du jour…the food was amazing.

I love the DC Central Kitchen and hope that you can one day experience the awesomeness of what I went through today. And in case you were wondering, the DC cops did NOT give me a parking ticket….good thing too, cuz I had it alllll documented on my cell phone.