Nimitz Sailors Volunteer at St. Vincent DePaul's

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Peter Merrill, USS Nimitz Public Affairs

May 20, 2010 - SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Sailors from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) volunteered to help the San Diego community by serving hot meals at St. Vincent DePaul's at Father Joe's Villages May 18.

Nimitz' Junior Enlisted Association (JEA) crew members wanted to conduct an event to help support the ship's surrounding community of San Diego.

"This helps build morale between the Navy and San Diego," said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (SW/AW) Ashlea Churchill, JEA president. "This lets junior Sailors get involved and experience the environment they are living in."

St. Vincent DePaul's once a small center that only handed out peanut butter sandwiches, now it has turned into a mission-style campus in the heart of downtown San Diego that houses more than 900 families and single men and women who need a place to stay until they are able to start rebuilding their lives.

Rico Espinoza, the facility's kitchen shift supervisor said, having volunteers spend their time at the shelter is a great thing. "They get to see what's going on and see how people are affected. It's awesome to have volunteers."

The staff of Father Joe's Villages appreciates volunteers as the shelter is funded strictly by donations. The real help is in the form of the people who volunteer in the kitchen, which is responsible for serving more than 1,000 meals at lunch every day to those who need it.

Espinoza said volunteering becomes even more special when it is a service member dedicating their time to help.

"You guys are doing your duty and then you come and serve. It's just an amazing thing you do," said Espinoza.

Churchill said coming out to help was a very rewarding experience, "You'll get a lot of thanks because a lot of these guys are veterans," she said.

Espinoza said it's the simple things that help out. "It's neighbors helping neighbors. A smile or even a simple 'Hi' makes some of these guy's days."

Nimitz is the flagship for Carrier Strike Group 11. Nimitz returned home to San Diego March 26 after completing a successful eight-month Western Pacific deployment.