When ECC student Emma Soroka was in high school she had to complete community service hours before she graduated. She then chose to volunteer at Feed My Starving Children.

Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit organization where volunteers pack up Manna Rice packs to send to a country in need, like Haiti or the Philippines.

Soroka continues to volunteer for the organization while in college.

“Not only is it a very simple and fun way to help people, but it is also very meaningful,” said Soroka. “Getting to see videos of the people [you help] really makes you appreciate what you have. ”

For some students volunteering means making an impact on children in need of help.

“The fact that I can help feed children who are starving in third world countries is an amazing and fulfilling feeling,” said student Kyle Perez.

A single meal only costs 22 cents to produce and the volunteer’s hand-pack all of the meals. The meals are described as nutritionally complete [with] a blend of 20 vitamins and minerals to fuel healthy development.

“It is heartbreaking that some kids and adults can’t even receive food, which is something we have three times a day and they have a hard time getting a meal a day,” said student Christina Wallace.

The permanent Illinois locations for Feed My Starving Children are Schaumburg, Aurora and Libertyville. There are also two locations in Minnesota and one in Arizona. People can also volunteer at a church, school or a business as part of the Mobile Pack Program, which connects volunteers from across the United States.

At the end of each session there is a prayer, which volunteers have the option of participating in, volunteers bless the food in hopes that it will get there safely. They also show a video that describes one of the kids that Feed My Starving Children helps. After the video it reveals how many meals were packed that day and how many children will be fed.

According to fmsc.org, in the year 2014, nearly 900,000 volunteers have packed meals and more than 229,000,000 meals were produced. The meals have reached 70 different countries around the world.

“Just a little help really can go a long way. Two hours [of help] can feed so many kids for a whole year,” said Soroka. “I also now realize that volunteering does not have to be an obligation; it can be fun.”