Tasked with distributing condiments while volunteering at the Syracuse Rescue Mission, Terri E. Krueger is shaken by something: Even after the hamburgers and hot dogs run out, everyone still asks if they can have the little packets of ketchup and mayonnaise.
“Just about every single person who came through the line had nothing,” said the six-year MDRT member from Syracuse, New York, who helped secure a $5,000 Quality of Life grant from the MDRT Foundation for the Mission, which works to fight hunger and homelessness. “So they took mustard and mayo, and felt like they were gaining something.
“We often say that if you’re ever complaining about anything in your life, come with me and serve a meal. You will be humbled and sorry you complained.”
Krueger has donated time and resources to the Syracuse Rescue Mission since she was 20, when she gave clothes that had been given to her for her daughter, who Krueger had at 18. At that time, she’d buy a can of tuna and make it last a couple of days. To say the contrasts in her life are extreme would be an understatement.
She came from an affluent family, living in a nice home in a nice area and going to one of the best schools in the district. Her adult life has been marked by professional success, volunteer service and stability with her husband and three kids. Yet in between, roughly from age 10 through 18, Krueger was neither safe nor secure.
Read the rest of Krueger’s story in “Compassion, not anger.”
To learn more about the MDRT Foundation, visit mdrtfoundation.org.
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