Retired paramedic serves meals at Christian Service Center

Volunteers served families and individuals at the Daily Bread dining hall for Thanksgiving lunch. (Photo from Christian Service Center for Central Florida Facebook page)

Helma Bilal has been serving as a regular volunteer at Christian Service Center. The retired paramedic gives back to her community by giving out free meals at the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen. 

Giving Back to Community

In a report with Spectrum News, Bilal asks to volunteer not only during the holidays, but also make it a point to show up every week. 

The former paramedic reportedly arrives early at the soup kitchen. She helps prepare meals and serves them to struggling people who are grateful for the hot meal. 

Bilal shared that she found it fulfilling to see the joy in their faces when they received the food. She added that she was glad to see them eating a good, home-cooked meal. It helped them get through the day.

Eradicating Hunger

Volunteering at the soup kitchen is something that she was passionate about, Bilal said. She knew that hunger is a problem that could be eradicated if everyone worked together. 

She reportedly served as a first responder for 25 years. Bilal moved to Florida from New York City when she retired from the service. She looked for ways to give back to her community. 

These days, the former first responder volunteers at the soup kitchen two to three times a week. 

She shared that she saw many people living in poverty during her career as a first responder. Seeing much suffering first hand made her decide that she wanted to volunteer in a place like Daily Bread. 

Bilal encouraged everyone to help in their little way. She added that they did not have to serve in a soup kitchen as long as they could do something to make a difference in someone's life. 

The report said that the nonprofit needed volunteers to help distribute the meals. More people come during the holidays, and the soup kitchen is at its busiest. 

Serving Meals to Fight Poverty

According to the Christian Service Center website, the organization has served over 4 million meals since it opened in 1975. 

The nonprofit organization's Daily Bread Program is part of its soup kitchen ministry. Volunteers serve hot meals to hungry people six days a week. 

The program started in 1975. At the time, volunteers distributed vouchers for their clients to eat at local restaurants. The local food community helped build the Daily Bread dining hall in 1987. 

Local restaurant owner Champ Williams prepared the meals off-site and delivered them to the kitchen. The nonprofit remodeled the soup kitchen to include a commercial kitchen where volunteers and staff could prepare meals on-site. 

The Daily Bread Kitchen continues to serve clients from two locations in Central Florida. The nonprofit organization believes in following its spiritual calling of feeding the hungry. 

According to the nonprofit, they serve around 350 meals a day. Meals are served six days a week at no cost. ​

Christian Service Center aims to prevent homelessness in Central Florida. It also seeks to eradicate poverty. 

Being a faith-based organization, the nonprofit also hopes to glorify God through its service. Staff and volunteers also address the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of struggling families and individuals in Central Florida.

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