Some stay for a weekend, while others commit to a weeklong program. I am telling all my friends. I was, like, so moved. But that reaction typically doesn't come until until later. A Human Face' Each work camp begins in the cafeteria of the Friends Seminary, a Quaker school in midtown Manhattan and home to the YSOP office.
Students prepare a dinner and serve it to people who are homeless.
On this particular Friday evening, Travis Lowder's group of 29 students from seven high schools in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and California ate with a dozen folks from Peter's Place, a drop-in center for elderly and frail men. The evening worked out well, as it always does, Mr. Doty said. One man showed a group of girls the pins he earned while a Navy Seal, then tried to talk them into joining the military. While some students seemed shy at first, soon the chatter grew so loud that an organization in the adjoining room asked the YSOP participants to lower their voices. It takes a small amount of courage to even initiate contact.