Feeding the homeless at Brother Benno’s Center: Oceanside, CA
Brother Benno's Center in Oceanside, CA, is dedicated to serving their homeless neighbors, the working poor, and seniors in northern San Diego County by providing essential meals, addressing their basic needs, and fostering community outreach. Members of the Sri Sathya Sai Center of North San Diego have been delivering sandwiches and care packages to Brother Benno's Center on the first Sunday of every month for the past 3 months. These are then distributed to the homeless. The Sai Center has been collaborating with Noble Families, a nonprofit organization that helps the homeless in north San Diego County.
In December 2023, eight members of the Sai Center, along with three children, worked together on this service project to assemble 20 care packages containing V8 juice, granola bars, trail mix, cheese sticks, and 50 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The Sai volunteers arrived at 11 am on Sunday to hand over the sandwiches and care packages to the staff at Brother Benno’s Center. They had arranged all the items in boxes which were then distributed to the homeless.
One Sai volunteer was grateful for this opportunity to help another individual in need, especially providing them with what is most essential for their survival: food. The staff of Brother Benno's Center were truly thankful and repeatedly said to the volunteers, 'God bless you for your help.'
One of the Sai volunteers, a high school student reflected “Making sandwiches for the homeless made me feel like I am contributing to the community. Knowing that each sandwich would make one person less hungry and that I am making another person’s life just a little easier fills me with joy.”
In addition, for Christmas, Sai Center members generously donated $400 to buy 20 blankets and delivered them to Brother Benno's Center on December 16, 2023 for distribution to the homeless.