Getting involved.

When my study abroad program first started, FIE gave us membership cards for the student union at the local university, Imperial College. Membership allowed us to take advantage of their gym, their pub, and most importantly their student organizations. I thought it would be a good opportunity to meet non-American students (everyone in my program and classes is American), so I decided to check out the Imperial College Union website and see what they offered. There were a couple interesting looking clubs, but an organization called Community Action Group caught my attention. I already missed my service organization at LMU so I figured it would be worth checking out.

On our second Sunday in London, two other LMU guys, Sam and Alex, and myself made our way to one of the Imperial residence halls at 7 PM. I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure what we would encounter. We arrived at this little residence kitchen where a small group of students were sorting food. They were really welcoming right away and so our relationship with CAG began.

CAG is an organization that picks up leftover food from chain cafes called Pret-a-Manger and Eat (I can't even think of similar stores in the US, these places sell ready-to-go sandwiches, wraps, baked goods, coffee and they are everywhere) as well as from Whole Foods. So on Sundays they pick up all these leftover sandwiches, cakes, bread, wraps, salads and then make tea, coffee, and hot chocolate in these huge urns. Then they all pile into an Imperial College minibus and drive about 20 minutes into the middle of London to a designated spot where homeless persons know that they will be. CAG passes out the food and drinks from the bus.

That first Sunday I participated was an eye opening experience. The homeless were there already waiting for us and as soon as we parked they gathered right around the bus. I didn't have much to do because there were enough students passing out food so I just got out of the bus and mingled a bit. The first guy I had a full conversation with was named Leo; he was from Romania but had lived in Canada and Ohio for a bit and had been living in London for a couple of months. He had studied some kind of science and had come to London to find work. However, he wasn't finding anything which is why he was on the street. I've never participated in homeless service back in LA because it isn't something that I'm particularly passionate about, but talking to Leo started to change my ideas of homelessness. He was intelligent, kind, well-travelled, and nothing like I had imagined homeless people to be.

So over the course of the past 4 months, I've attended CAG's food run at least half a dozen Sundays, maybe more, I didn't really keep a tally. I've met backpackers from Belfast and breakdancers from Poland. I've handed cups of hot chocolate (the most popular beverage) to teenagers and vegetarian sandwiches to an elderly guy who recently had a stroke. Sunday food runs with CAG never disappoint.

The other great thing about CAG has been the student members. The surprising thing was that most weren't British. Among the regulars were the German president, a Slovenian girl, a Finnish girl, a Polish guy, a Bavarian guy, another German guy, and then 2 British guys, one of whom said he didn't consider himself British at all, having gone to boarding school in Europe.

After the food run, we often went to the college pub for a drink and to hang out a bit. That was usually just as fun, if not funner, than the food run. On one occasion, we also went with CAG to an event called "Voices from the Edge," which was a performance about poverty and homelessness. Actors sat on stage and performed stories from a script. It was really interesting.

Another night Sam, Alex, and I made our way to Brixton, about 40 minutes south from Kensington, to watch a jazz performance. After we had sat down, we looked around to check out the crowd. Sam nudged me to tell me that one of the guys sitting at the next table over looked like the CAG president. I looked over and agreed. And then we realized it really was him! Turned out he lived a couple minutes away, but had never been to that bar, and had coincidentally decided to check it out that night. It was a nice surprise seeing him there and that was one of the times when I felt that London was becoming familiar.

CAG has also been beneficial, especially for Alex. He's travelling around Europe for the next couple of months and needed somewhere to store his luggage. After asking the RA and trying to find decently priced rental storage with no luck, he decided to email one of the CAG guys. He said no problem, so now Alex doesn't have to pay for storage!

Getting involved with CAG has definitely been one of the highlights of my London time.