On the north wall of Bishop Montgomery’s chapel is a quote from Mother Teresa: “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” Walking the halls of Bishop Montgomery is freshman Ian Gogue, a young man who embodies this testimonial, who uses his time, talents, and generous spirit to help the less fortunate. Humbly, Ian explains his desire to put his faith into action: “I don’t think I do a lot of community service, but doing small things has helped open my eyes to what I can do.”
Inspired and encouraged by his mother, Liz, Ian has spent many hours in his early teen years doing volunteer work. A graduate of Sts. Peter and Paul School in Wilmington, he has enjoyed opportunities over the past few years to give back to his school and its mother parish. Whether passing out food last year to the needy with his 8th grade classmates, or raking leaves and watering the lawn at the convent, Ian enjoys the opportunity to be of service to others. And, his kind actions are not just motivated by a community service requirement or a religion class grade; rather, they stem from gratitude-- from a deep appreciation for many gifts in his life. “We often take for granted what we have… not everybody can go to the school I go to, or are fortunate to receive the education that I am receiving. I appreciate what I have and I want to thank God for all of it by helping people who are less fortunate than me… who don’t have what I have.”
This expression of gratitude was never more evident than this November when Ian, his family, and friends spent their Thanksgiving putting others first, sharing their blessings with those in need. Invited by a family friend to help assemble and deliver meals to Skid Row, Ian and his family jumped in with full hands and full hearts. Gathering at Sts. Peter and Paul’s school hall the night before Thanksgiving, the Gogues and about 20 other volunteers created an assembly line to prepare sandwiches, and then added the sandwiches to sack lunches with water, fruit, and bags of potato chips and cookies. After two hours, the volunteers had packed up their cars with more than 350 lunches, ready for delivery to Skid Row the next morning.
Rising at 5am on Thanksgiving Day, Ian, along with his family and a caravan of cars, set off for one of the most dilapidated areas of downtown Los Angeles. Arriving at 6:30am, the group quickly unloaded their trunks and began distributing the lunches. For Ian, the sights were overwhelming. “I had never been to Skid Row before,” he explains. “It was eye-opening. The conditions were way worse than I expected… I was in jeans and a sweatshirt and was cold, but these people were covered just in blankets, sleeping on cardboard.”
In less than an hour, the lunches were gone. With a few cases of water remaining, Ian and his family continued to hand out bottles to the residents. When those were gone, the Gogues packed up and headed home to prepare their own Thanksgiving meal. But, for Ian, the experiences of the day stayed with him. “I think it will always be with me. I don’t think I will ever forget some of the things I saw there… and I don’t think I’ll ever lose the drive to want to do more of this.”
Ian and his family are already planning a return trip to Skid Row at Christmas time, and Ian hopes to continue the visits throughout the upcoming year. “I want to go back down there, not just on holidays, just on random weekends to pass out food. Even if I just had bottles of water, we could hand those out,” he says hopefully.
Although he knows the task of serving the homeless is a large one, “It’s hard to make a dent in it…. there’s so many people,” Ian knows that even a little gesture of kindness-- the smallest drop in the ocean-- can go a long way. “This is one way I can give back to my community,” he shares. “I just hope I can do more.”