A conversation at Cool Beanz drew student volunteers from Augustana, among other Quad City community members, to package food supplies for Syrian refugees at the Waterfront Convention Center in Bettendorf on Dec. 5.

“I was having a conversation with my friend a few months back about the situation in Syria when I was approached by this kind lady,” said sophomore Adiba Hasan.

The lady was Linda Golden, a member of the Temple Emmanuel, Davenport, who invited Hasan to the meetings where religious leaders, Kids for Hunger-Your Quad Cities and other organizations were forming the details of the event.

“Initially, we needed 10 people for one table, but we were able to get 30 people to sign up,” said Hasan.

Michele Pisman, secretary of Temple Emmanuel, said in an email that three teams of 10 students from Augustana signed up for the 4 p.m. shift, with more students showing up throughout the day.

Pisman said approximately 55 to 60 Augustana students came out.

Hasan was one of the head coordinators from Augustana’s group, Interfaith Understanding, along with sophomore Hannah Griggs.

Griggs was excited for the event, because it was Interfaith Understanding’s first service project of the year.

“We just want to emphasize that people from all different faiths and non-faiths value compassion…and helping the Syrian refugees is a way to show compassion and love,” said Griggs.

In total there were around 250,000 volunteers coming from the Muslim and Jewish communities, local schools, individuals, as well as people with the Kids Against Hunger-Your Quad Cities.

Kids Against Hunger is an international food relief organization that packages food to starving people around the world.

The event was preparing food for the Syrian refugees in Jordan.

“It’s inhumane–what they’re going through,” said Hasan. “This is one of the worst influx(es) of refugees, and (large world powers, such as Russia, the UK, Saudi Arabia and) the United States have a big hand in whatever is happening.”

In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, some states, like Illinois, want to close off their borders to the incoming refugees.

Pam Gettert, event scheduler and president of Kids Against Hunger-Your Quad Cities, said that people from all over the Jewish and Muslim community came to her looking for some way to help.

Gettert said she was amazed at the turnout, with churches, mosques, synagogues, families, schools and even refugees all lending a hand.

John Kessler founded the organization in the area back in 2009. Kessler said that the package mix they were using had a three-year guaranteed shelf life, containing vitamins, minerals, soy, rice, and vegetables.

“It costs 26 cents to make a meal, and each bag has six meals in it…every table does about 1600 meals in an hour,” said Kessler.

Hasan wasn’t expecting to get such support for the cause, and the number of people who showed up exceeded her expectations.

She said it was great to have so many students come out, as it showed that they all want to help out in some way.

Interfaith Understanding meets every Thursday at 6 p.m. in Old Main. While there are no more service projects planned for the year, members are hoping for active participation in the months to come.