There´s no such thing as a free lunch? Vittorio de Santis from Grain de Vie has a different opinion on this. He runs a unique bakery in Waterloo that employs handicapped persons and donates bread to various organizations in need of food.
His most recent project is to prepare 2,500 Christmas gift boxes to give to the poor in Brussels in December and January. We went to Grain de Vie last week with Plaisirs de Servir in order to help prepare more boxes but also to hear Vittorio´s story. Grain de Vie was founded 12 years ago with the clear objective to facilitate integration of individuals with impairments into society. Vittorio´s wife, Bernadette, suffers from hearing disabilities and they were active in a charity organisation that was working with deaf and mute persons. They chose to open a bakery because bread is common to all humans, easily understood by anyone, something that can be done with basic skills but still plays an important role in somebody´s life. The bakery first started in the De Santis´ home and it was only years later that with the help of donations Grain de Vie could afford moving to a bigger location. 
For Grain de Vie´s Christmas project Vittorio and Bernadette are putting together 4 types of boxes: for families, for men, for women and for children. In order to prepare these boxes they receive help from students, people from church and numerous volunteers from Serve the city, American scouts, people with disabilities coming from other centers. They donate to Poverello, Little Sisters of the Poor, Nativitas and Caria on a regular basis What are Vittorio´s next dreams? He´s thinking big, as he knows that many unused buildings in Brussels could be given to the homeless as a temporary home. In return, these people could renovate the buildings but they need more volunteers. Remember: Many people doing small things together make a big difference! What will you do to help? Serve the City mobilizes volunteers to show kindness in practical ways to people in need. Serve the City partners with homeless shelters, refugee centers, orphanages, senior homes and other associations and invites volunteers to offer practical help and support. Serve the City projects are often simple – sports, music, arts and crafts, teaching English, painting, serving food, and cutting hair. We are matchmakers – the connection between the good intentions of people who could serve and a meaningful opportunity to do so.
