By the time we had sliced and buttered the 35th bun, the kids were slumping in the kitchen heat, exaggerating their exhaustion as they whine and moaned for a break, for a drink, for us to stop this hard labour, for us to leave this wretched place and return home.

Not a chance, said I as we emptied another bag of buns — most of the food is courtesy of the Kamloops Food Bank’s FoodShare program — onto the cutting board and continued to slice and butter our way to preparing 110 dinner rolls for last Sunday’s Pit Stop meal for the needy at the Kamloops United Church.

But, once they had a drink and a few moments of rest, the kids perked up and worked like troopers, helping make dinner for 100 or so homeless and working-poor Kamloopsians.

We were part of the Kamloops This Week newsroom crew that volunteered its services for the weekly Sunday meal at Fourth and St. Paul, overseen by Pit Stop kitchen boss Diane Stuart.

We were joined by KTW staffers Dave Eagles, Marty Hastings, Tim Petruk, Dale Bass, Melissa Lampman, Jeremy Deutsch and — showing that altruism extends to the airwaves — Radio NL reporter Haley Cooper, otherwise known as Jeremy’s better half.

The idea germinated in the minds of Dale and Melissa, who are familiar with the program through their reporting work.

They recruited the newsroom and away we went on a glorious summer day — one in which the lure of a free round of golf at Tobiano wasn’t enough to compel me pass on heading downtown to help my co-workers.

(My links martyrdom is now public.)

While the endeavour was conceived as a way to give back to the community, to partake in a good deed to help the less fortunate, my motives were a bit more selfish.

My daughter has had a latent fear of the homeless for many years.

It’s natural, I suppose, for a girl to compile such an affliction, after many car trips through the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and following countless forays into downtown Kamloops, where the homeless — most benign, but some frightening to a little girl — are more and more evident each day.

(My son has no such trepidation; indeed, he thrills in taking shortcuts through downtown alleys on winter nights as we go to and from Kamloops Blazers’ games.)

Volunteering for such an activity is good for the community, good for the soul and good for the kids, in that it should help them realize how fortunate they are.

However, I was also hoping my daughter’s interaction with those less fortunate would help her understand the people she sees on the street are not monsters, are not to be feared, but are people, like her, who have simply fallen on hard times for various reasons.

And, by helping to serve dinner, helping to bring this man a fork and that woman a napkin, I think Sunday did wonders for her world view.

Another lesson not lost on the kids was the gratitude that was very evident that hot weekend afternoon in the church hall.

Yes, there were precisely three instances in which those being served were less than grateful, adopting instead a stance that it is their right to be served. Now. Ahead of others.

However, the vast majority taking advantage of a much-needed meal made it a point to offer a smile and thank those who helped prepare and serve the food.

At the end of the dinner, a quiet group from the very back of the hall cleaned the table and made its way to the front.

Included in the quintet was a little boy, perhaps not much younger than my son. He grasped two balloons as he walked behind his mom, who was clutching a flower handed to her by her little guy.

My kids watched him leave the hall and, by the look on their faces, I knew that short scene that waltzed in front of their eyes brought home the point of our Sunday outing more than words or statistics ever could.

The Pit Stop program organizes these dinners each Sunday, with volunteer groups signing up to help on those days.

Want to lend a hand? Call 250-374-5196 or 250-372-3020.