People in cars, on foot, and even on bicycles arrive to receive free boxes of food at the 7-Eleven in the Town of Herndon distributed by volunteers and members of Heritage Fellowship Church. Photo by Mercia Hobson.
Alex Rodriguez is Organizing Chair of the Herndon Labor Support Center. On Saturday, Aug. 22, shortly after 9:30 in the morning, a white box truck with the words, 'Heritage Fellowship Church' pulls into the 7-Eleven parking lot in the Town of Herndon, an informal day laborer site. Inside are 300 boxes of food to be donated to anyone who asks. Rodriquez later said, "This gives you an idea about the generosity of the Herndon community. I believe someone once said, 'Character is what you do when no one is watching.' Well, there's plenty of character in this small town."
At first, only a few people cautiously stepped up to the truck. They were handed a closed box filled with food. Volunteers had to walk across the lot and deliver the boxes to other day laborers lingering on the sidewalks. Within 30 minutes, a line of predominantly working-class Latino families many with small children arrived, some by car and some by foot. Volunteers popped open trunks, loaded boxes of food into the vehicles, and handed boxes to others.
According to Cesar del Aguila, the Heritage Fellowship Church is an example of the kindness and generosity people can have towards a different community. "I can personally tell you their act of compassion with this food drive was well received and has lessened the anxiety in the Latino community," he said.
This is not the first time members of the church distributed food at the 7-Eleven. According to Rev. Dr. Dustin B. Sullivan, Pastor Heritage Fellowship Church, in May, the Herndon-based church found itself challenged with what to do with a half-full, box truck of food the community generously donated. "Church members literally could not handle the quantity of what we were blessed to provide," said Sullivan. The recommendation was made to travel to the 7-Eleven convenience store in Herndon. After seeing the need that day, church members decided to add the site to their food distribution ministry permanently.
In June, the congregation raised $15,000 to ensure quality boxes of food could be provided to 500 families throughout the community, including families and individuals coming to the 7-Eleven in Herndon. "We were amazed this time (in June) to have the support of Herndon Councilmember Cesar del Aguila, police officers of the Herndon Police precinct, a neighboring church of predominantly Korean Americans, along with our previous ministry partners at the senior buildings," said Sullivan.
Sullivan described how those in need defied the fear of ICE raids because they trusted God had provided a safe haven in the 7-Eleven parking lot. "Could you imagine being so brave, just to satisfy the need of providing for your family?" he asked.
Rodriguez helped distribute the food on Aug. 22. Later, he said that while the purpose of the Herndon Labor Support Center, a recently incorporated 501 (c) (3) organization, was to help the workers seeking to support themselves and their families, the long-term goal was to establish a privately funded, safe, indoor facility. Among other things, the facility would be used for people seeking work to use the modern technology there and inform the community of their availability.