Volunteers Donate Their Saturday Nights To Those In Need
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A group of friends has turned Saturday nights into an evening of giving to those in need.
For the past three months, Shaun Giberson has spent his Saturday evenings cooking soup, making peanut butter sandwiches and packing baggies full of toiletries.
"Then we bag 'em up in brown paper bags and go hand them out," says Giberson. "We donate anywhere from 100 meals to 150 meals."
The giving begins around 10 p.m. Giberson and his partner, Nick Stelto, started the non-profit Giving Back Coalition. Gilberson, Stelto and their gang of friends scour Love Park, Suburban Station and the nooks and crannies of Center City looking for the hungry.
"We have ran into children, parents grandparents," says Giberson, who notes all of those who receive the free snacks are grateful.
"We have I have been called 'a saint,' I have been called 'you didn't know but you're a God'," he says.
The nighttime hours mean those shut out of the shelters get a midnight snack and unlikely volunteers get a chance to give back.
"Instead of going out dancing we make sandwiches for people who need to eat," says Brian Cutrupi, a volunteer.
"It's Christmas Day every Saturday night and it's so worthwhile," says James Cancglin, another volunteer. "The payback is 100 fold. It's a great way to spend your Saturday night."
To make monetary or in-kind donations, visit the Giving Back Coalition website.
