Sometimes, it takes looking from the inside to recognize greatness. From the outside of New York City, the media often presents us a picture of coarse New Yorkers, unconcerned with the fates of others, commuting back and forth through their busy lives. But on further inspection, the negligence and head-in-the clouds attitudes doesn’t touch all aspects of the city that never sleeps.

For a week, I was immersed in the New York culture. Like hundreds who live in the city, I took the subway to and from work each day, smashed in between strangers I didn't know, only to be deposited a 20-minute walk from work at Houston St. The subway system and its passengers became familiar to me, but the reality that became more true was that of the people who dedicate their lives to help others.

God's Love We Deliver isn't located in one of the magnificent buildings so typical of New York city, but in stature, it stands greater than all of them. The organization, located near Soho, is housed in a modest brick building, but more than 1,500 clients are served through its swinging doors daily.

God's Love We Deliver is changing the reality of people with HIV and AIDS, as well as other demonstrated medical needs daily by fufilling one of their most basic needs – nutrition. Meals are based on a diet for a person surviving with HIV and AIDS, so they are always over 2000 calories, and are handmade each day by volunteers and paid employees.

The kitchen is more than just a mere assembly line. During my week's stay, it wasn't uncommon to strike up a conversation with one of the regular volunteers, or to joke around with visitors from Harvard, or even catch one of the cooks singing a parody of Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars." From helping, God's Love We Deliver does more than just deliver meals door-to-door — it is rapidly creating a fellowship between people who care about other people.

What makes God's Love We Deliver so amazing isn't the numbers or the statistics we can view on paper — it's each individual person who suits up in a hairnet and rubber gloves to try to make a difference.

Derry Duncan, the volunteer specialist who walked us through training for the week we worked there, is one of the most charismatic individuals I have ever met. The woman is an enigma who didn't choose this work — it chose her. Yet her passion is palpable every time she speaks. In the entirety of a week, I never saw her without a smile on her face, and her gratitude for each and every volunteer was so visible.

To me, GLWD is Derry, and people like her, who don't think twice about whether or not they should become involved in helping others — they simply do, and through their enthusiasm and courage, inspire other people to come along.

According to the New York State Department of Health, more than 10,000 people in the city of New York alone live with HIV and AIDS. Though progress has been tremendous since it first prevailed many years ago, we have no scientific cure. But maybe, through feeding those who, perhaps without a little help, could not eat, we are actually helping to find a solution. So thank you to Derry and all others who give of themselves to do this work. It isn't just another volunteer assignment — really helping is a lifetime task.

Juana Maria Summers