William Cameron 
St. Edith Catholic School
Livonia

When I gaze into this vast world we live in, I see so many problems waiting to be addressed. After several years, some issues are resolved and disappear, and some challenges persist. However, through the eyes of a 13 year-old boy, some problems seem too large to solve. For me, I struggled with what I could do to address poverty. Like a mountain climber attempting to pull himself above an icy cliff, homeless people are stuck in a position where it is nearly impossible to get over this steep obstacle. Everyone has their own image when they hear the word poverty. My image of true poverty came into focus when I began volunteering in Detroit at a food outreach program about a year ago. It was then I learned of the brutal life endured by so many in this city and it was where I met my personal Michigan hero.

When I first decided to volunteer distributing food near a shelter in Detroit, I was a little nervous. I had made certain assumptions about my safety and the people I may encounter. I was also concerned about how a kid my age would be received in an adult-led volunteer group. As my dad and I walked into Our Lady of Good Council Church at 5:30 in the morning, we were immediately welcomed by an energetic woman, who introduced herself as Vicki. She recognized we were new to the group, so she quickly explained the program to us. We learned she formed the group, and they had been providing sandwiches and donating clothes to a homeless shelter near Cass Avenue and Martin Luther King Street in Detroit every Saturday, regardless of the weather, for the past 15 years. She explained, “The group began with only a few volunteers but, later, it grew to over 60 people.” We were assigned the job of making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and later met the group at a vacant lot in front of a Detroit shelter.

When we arrived, I was stunned by what I saw. Although it was only 10 degrees outside, already over 100 people were waiting patiently for us to arrive. What I saw shattered my notion of poverty. I learned real poverty takes any form, including people who simply lost their job. But for me, the most difficult thing to see were the children, younger than me, who walked out of the shelter to eat my sandwiches.

In the middle of this emotional setting, I noticed Vicki greeting her customers with the love and respect you would expect to see between friends. I was amazed she knew nearly all of their names and, of course, they all knew her as Ms. Vicki. She gave each of them hugs and encouragement, which brought smiles to their faces.

My dad and I have volunteered many more times with the Peanut Butter and Jelly Outreach Program. Vicki is there every time rallying the group. For me, I cannot imagine a better Michigan hero than Ms. Vicki, who showed me the right way to approach poverty.