Each year at work we hold a diversity dinner. It’s a twist on the traditional turkey and potatoes meal that many companies offer their employees. At ours, we include dishes common in other cultures such as lasagna, pirogi, or samosa. While our Christmas party is a ticketed evening event that not everyone chooses to attend, the diversity dinner is a free meal that is catered in our lunchroom.

The meal may be catered, but the setup and clean up is completed by employee volunteers. Some stayed late or worked through lunch to get the decorations in order. Some came into work crazy early to help setup. Others stayed for hours after their shifts ended in order to help clean up the mess. Feeding 400 people over two three hour shifts makes for messy dishes, tables and floors.

I was originally scheduled to work the clean up shift at the end of the day alone. It’s a shift I’m used to volunteering to cover and working alone – since many people want to get home to their families in the evening and prefer to work earlier in the day – but for a meal this large, it’s a shift I was dreading. It takes about an hour to clean up after a free coffee and donuts session. I knew it would take many more hours to finish up after a full blown meal.

This is where my wonderful co-workers rode to the rescue. Boo slept in and instead of beginning her work day at 0 dark 30 arrived later in the afternoon so she could help me with cleaning duties. She’s the best pot washer I know! Mike helped move tables and carry the heavy boxes while Trevor helped clean up, carry and un-decorate. With their help, we’d finished washing, cleaning and putting away in only 2 hours. Without them I’d likely still be up to my elbows in dish water.

The best thing about the meal? We ordered enough food to feed all 500+ employees but not everyone worked today. Anyone with the day off was informed and invited to partake but not everyone wants to come to work on their day off. All of the extra food that was prepared by the caterers, but not served, was delivered by the catering company to a local homeless shelter/soup kitchen. At this moment, I’m really proud of the company I work for and their commitment to making a difference in the community in which we work and live.

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