Food drive by SSE students: Beaverton, OR
The end of education is character. The essence of education is not mere book knowledge, but the practice of what is read. Real education is that which fosters the sense of discrimination, humility, and selfless service.”
In Oregon, nearly one in four residents struggle with food insecurity. To help address this pressing issue, students from Groups 3 and 4 of the Sri Sathya Sai Center of Beaverton's Sai Spiritual Education (SSE) program organized a food drive from April 27 to May 18, 2025. Inspired by Sai’s teachings on selfless service, the students partnered with the Sunshine Division of the Portland Police Bureau, a community program that provides food and clothing to families in need.
The students promoted the drive by creating flyers and making announcements at weekly devotional gatherings. The Beaverton Sai Center members responded with immense generosity, donating a variety of non-perishable food items like canned goods and dried vegetables. A Sai Center member even volunteered their home as a drop-off point, which made it easy for everyone to contribute.
The donated items were delivered directly to the Sunshine Division, which provides critical support to families facing hunger in the Portland area. This project was a valuable learning experience for the SSE students. It taught them about the importance of compassion, empathy, and gratitude, and allowed them to experience the joy of selfless giving while helping to address a real need in their community.
A reflection from one of the student participants highlights the spirit behind this initiative:
“My source of inspiration and motivation behind every service activity I’ve done is the simple Sai quote: ‘Love all, Serve all’ and ‘Help ever, Hurt never’. This is my favorite quote because it is so simple yet so perfectly descriptive of how people should live. When I do service activities, I think of this quote and remind myself that everyone deserves to eat well.”
Through this food drive, the SSE students of the Sri Sathya Sai Center of Beaverton not only collected much-needed supplies for families in need but also deepened their own understanding of Sai’s timeless message: that true education is not just about learning in the classroom but about putting love into action through selfless service.