For nearly a year, members of Life West’s Student American Black Chiropractic Association (SABCA) chapter have taken to the streets in order to spread the school’s mission of Lasting Purpose. Later this month, the organization will mobilize members of the Life West community as part of its biggest day of service yet.
On Sunday, Nov. 17, SABCA will supervise a multi-faceted effort with the goal of providing food and supplies for homeless communities in the Bay Area. In all, the chapter aims to feed 2,000 people in need in both Oakland and San Francisco.
SABCA representatives say the event is designed to raise awareness of the significance of giving back to one’s community, and that it represents a strong relationship with a local organization aiming to help those who need it most.
“We partnered up with The City Eats, which feeds the homeless in San Francisco on the first Saturday of each month,” said Life West student Dayanara Thompson. “For the last 10 months, we’ve had SABCA representatives go to each meeting. Each time, they give out 1,000 to 2,000 lunches, and we wanted to bring that day of service to Life West.”
“It’s kind of going back to where we started under the name Sankofa, which is an African proverb meaning, ‘turn around and give back,’” added fellow SABCA member Xavier Crawford. “It means reaching back to people who look like you and pulling them forward from where they once were into prosperity.”
Crawford was also quick to give credit to #HashtagLunchbag, an organization in Southern California with a similar mission. Not only has that group provided invaluable guidance, he said, they have also allowed Life West’s SABCA chapter to run the Bay Area #HashtagLunchbag chapter as well.
“They’re really helping us tailor-make this into the best thing we can,” he said. “It’s been a great opportunity to work with them.”
Life West students can sign up to participate via an official Facebook event page and are asked to report to the Standard Process Assembly Hall at 10 am on Nov. 17. Volunteers will be divided into small groups to either make lunches or package toiletries and hygiene products, and each bag will also contain a handwritten note of gratitude. After packing is complete, a representative from The City Eats will speak about what delivery teams can expect when out in the field before those teams take bags into the two Bay Area cities.
SABCA is requesting donations, starting with $10 for students, which can be given via Venmo to the SABCA-LifeWest account. Thompson says she hopes volunteers embrace the opportunity to recognize gratitude, as well as use chiropractic’s principles to give back to the less fortunate.
“We want everyone to take a moment and be grateful for what they have,” she said. “In this program, we’re in this little bubble where life is amazing. There’s a lot that’s going great for everybody. However, we do get stressed out, and we lose our gratitude. Sometimes, we forget what our ‘why’ is. We want to provide that for everyone.”
