If you volunteered at St. Joseph Diner in the past several months, you likely met Max Schaefer – tall, fair-skinned, ruddy-cheeked, affable, tremendously helpful - his excellently commanded English sporting a slight accent. Ten shifts each week quickly multiplied into nearly 300 hundred hours of service, and not surprisingly, Max became a beloved companion of St. Joseph Diner clients and staff alike.

Here’s what Max shared about his experience serving at St. Joseph Diner:

I am Max. I am 17 years old and from Berlin, Germany. I’m currently living with a host family in Lafayette, Louisiana.
A part of the 11th grade is to go abroad and do service work. All the students are helping out in different places all over the world. I decided to go to Louisiana because of my host family who offered for me to stay with them.
I love to help especially when people are in need, and my host mom recommended for me to serve at St. Joseph Diner. I scrolled through the website and decided that this could be the right place for my project! The website made me feel welcome.
The first time I helped at St. Joseph Diner was exciting. The staff as well as the volunteers who served that day made me feel at home. I had the pleasure of being a part of a great team when I served!
Serving at St. Joseph Diner has impacted me in a big way.
I see that homelessness is a big problem in this area. It’s awesome to see that St. Joseph Diner operates because of donors and volunteers. I see the community volunteering to serve food, and I realize that generous communities are a part of solving the problem of homelessness.
Homelessness is a problem in certain areas in Germany; however, everyone in Germany has free access to healthcare as well as the opportunity to live in an apartment paid by the government. Although there are the opportunities I just mentioned, people still struggle with addictions.
It surprises me every day how open the people are who are working for St. Joseph Diner. The positive way they treat the people they serve fascinates me.
I have learned what really matters in my life. It is fulfilling to make people happy.
I will take these experiences with great people and an irreplaceable environment back to Germany.
Thank you to all who made my journey happen. I appreciate “y’all!”
Max

Be like Max. Volunteer with us, especially looking for the shifts with zero volunteers. Click here to see our St. Joseph Diner live volunteer calendar.

German Exchange Student Volunteers For 290 Hours at St. Joseph Diner