Our 70K burrito was passed out to Daniel Scott on our 198th consecutive Sunday of serving the homeless community in downtown San Diego.
This photo here gives you an idea of how busy Long Island Mike’s becomes on any given Sunday. With two tables working assembly lines to stack, fill, and roll burritos, as well as people working in the kitchen to crack and cook over 1500 hundred eggs, it is amazing to think that we are able to prepare close to 700 burritos in an hour’s time. Not to mention, that fifty pounds of dog food is bagged and fresh snacks are prepared for Kidz Korner. It is a crazy, busy sort of energy that happens every Sunday morning at Burrito Boyz.
Author: LindaB
Dignity, Respect and Compassion
Burrito Boyz offers dignity, respect, and compassion to our downtown community. Taking the time to make a connection with someone is as important if not more than just giving out a burrito. Striking up a conversation, listening to someone’s story, inquiring about someone’s health or living conditions, finding a connection and/or common bond is what we are all about.
Burrito Boyz say good-bye to one of our downtown community members, as she leaves San Diego to join her family in Indiana. We wish you the best of luck in your new home.
Kids Taking Action!!! Thank you, Bianca and Teresa for making a difference. Thank you for spending a Sunday morning with the Burrito Boyz!
Again, we would like to thank Einstein Bagles for their generous weekly donation.
Air Force and Army in the House
Not to be outdone by the Navy, pictured here are active military from the Air Force and Army, many of whom have come back and joined us again and again to help in serving the downtown homeless community. Just this past week we had representives from the Marine Corp, Navy, Army, and Air Force. These wonderful volunteers have brought a richness to our core of volunteers and have inspired us with their dedication to service. Thank you!
Aleesa is ready to stack the next burrito as Austin rolls and wraps. Six year old Aleesa was a dynamic force as she moved from job to job, taking her role as a volunteer very seriously. Once downtown she helped pass out bagels and burritos. Thank you, Aleesa for joining us at Burrito Boyz!
Teen Volunteers In Action
Burrito Boyz welcomed Julie and Deanna from Teen Volunteers In Action-TVIA http://tvia.org/ this past Sunday. Both pictured here passing out burritos, shared about their group of one hundred young men in grades 7th through 12th. who are actively involved in hands-on service within their north county community. TVIA’s goals and philosophy reflect that of the Burrito Boyz. Thank you for joining us, Julie and Deanna. We look forward to seeing you again and welcoming more volunteers from TVIA.
Welcome back to Cora, who manages to fit us into her busy schedule of school and swim team. This photo shares how much our Kidz Korner kids enjoy the books we have availabe and is a reminder that we are always in need of children books. If you are cleaning off bookshelves and come across children’s books, all levels, please don’t forget about us and the joy they would bring to our Kidz Korner.
What a pleasure to have three generations represented at Burrito Boyz and how special for Cole, one or our orginal Burrito Boyz, to pass out burritos with his grandfather. Grandfather Richard was visiting from Texas and joined his daughter Lynn, Cole’s mom, in filling burritos and greeting the downtown community. It was a pleasure to meet you, Richard.
Leaders and the Navy on 4th July
Here’s to highlighting three of our great adult leaders, Michael and Mehrnaz Johansons, and Jim “Mac” McElroy. This photo was snapped as they were sharing with our Navy volunteers a little history of the Burrito Boyz. Their generosity and dedication to service is remarkable. Mac offers our group humor and inspiration. His deeply felt compassion and great generosity inspire us all.
What better way to celebrate the 4th of July weekend than having the Navy join us in scrambling eggs and rolling burritos? Through an open invitation from our regular volunteer, Marci, a civilian working with the Navy for thirty years, eighteen active Navy personnel and family members joined us. What a pleasure it was to have them with us and through their effort we rolled over six hundred burritos. Thank you NAVY!
Kidz Korner and FOCUS
The Burrito Boyz organization would like to thank Friends of Children United Society, FOCUS, http://www.focus-sdkids.org/index.html for their donation to our Kidz Korner project. Their generous donation allows us to offer fresh snacks, hygene products, sunscreen, interactive games, and a child centered “Korner” for a brief moment each Sunday morning. Thank you, Rosemary Penny, for bringing us to the attention of FOCUS. Kids Korner is a bright, happy spot on the sidewalks of San Diego every Sunday morning. Created by Terry and her girls McKayla and Aurora, our downtown homeless children have a place to enjoy a book, play a game, color, and even paint. Faces and hands are washed, sunscreen applied, and snacks and juice are offered. Aurora, McKayla, Shelby and Sara are regulars volunteers found in Kidz Korner. Many wonderful bonds have been made between these volunteers and children. Whether reading a book or listening to a child read his/herself, helps to provide a moment of normalcy for these children who live anything but a normal life. We have regular visitors each Sunday and may at times have up to thirty children joining us at the Kidz Korner. Thank you FOCUS for helping us to serve the homeles children in San Diego.
Adios Tanner! Hello Georgie!
Our group of volunteers at Burrito Boyz is very special. Gathering to serve, inspire, and make a difference in someone else’s life tends to bring together people who are happy and caring individuals. With that in mind, it is always difficult to say good-bye to one of our members. Tanner has been a regular volunteer for the last year and a half. He has shared his kindness, gentleness, and quick smile. It is through his positive spirit that many have learned to give with respect. We wish Tanner and his family the best, as they move to their new home in Colorado. We will miss you, Tanner, but do hope you will come join us again when you are back for a visit.
Georgie pictured here with Tanner, has come the furthest to volunteer with us. She is from Austalia and came to us via Thailand, where she was staying with her parents who teach at international schools in Bangkok. She had heard about the Burrito Boyz and was most looking forward to meeting everyone in person. Her Sunday morning with us was a highlight of her stay in San Diego. Thank you, Georgie, for joining us!
Aurora and McKayla collect Blankets
Our own Burrito Babes, Aurora and McKayla, have been regular weekly volunteers for the last two years plus. They are the fastest egg crackers to ever set foot in our kitchen, expert burrito rollers, and have won the hearts of the children who visit the Kidz Korner at both of our stops downtown.
You may notice in this picture that they are also identical twins. Service minded as they are, Aurora and McKayla took it upon themselves to organize a blanket drive at their school, Cajon Park Junior High in Santee. With a goal in mind, they created a plan and presented it to their student body. The result was a collection of over a hundred blankets which they distributed to our downtown homeless community. Thank you to both of you for all your hard work and your continued effort. Also, thank you to Mrs. Stacy Roberts, the girls’ teacher who joined us on Sunday, when Aurora and McKayla presented their project to our group. You are a great example of KIDS TAKING ACTION. Congratulations, girls and thank you!
Hot Sauce! Get Your Hot Sauce!
Where else on the streets of San Diego can you get a better burrito with hot sauce? The people we serve each Sunday are most thankful for their hot burrito and often comment on how tasty they are. Every dollar donated goes to the ingredients that make up our burritos. They are filled with at least two scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, and lots of cheese. They are rolled with love and handed out with compassion and dignity.
Thanks to Mike May, who donates his pizza parlor, Long Island Mike’s Pizza www.longislandmikespizza.com,where we scramble and roll burritos each Sunday, we are able to offer hot burritos. Once the burritos are rolled, they are placed in the pizza oven. When our burritos are unwrapped downtown they are piping hot and delicious. After a volunteer suggested our burritos would be even better with hot sauce, hot sauce was added to the distrubution line. We go through about three to four bottles each Sunday. In this photo regular volunteers, Darren and Nate, compete to see who pours the most hot sauce.
Developing Young and Old
One of the focuses in BB is developing leadership skills in our young volunteers and giving them opportunities to take the reigns and lead. Here Cole, one of our original Burrito Boyz, leads the wrap-up discussion, with the youth volunteers after our second stop. This is a time with kids can share their experiences, share who they have met, and reflect on their impressions of the morning. These are warm heartfelt talks filled with smiles and inspiration.
Lee Gormley, our oldest volunteer to date at age 93, returned this spring for a second visit to volunteer for the Burrito Boyz. She was joined by her daughter who traveled from Connecticut and her grandsome visiting from San Francisco.