Food Bank Volunteerism

I am currently volunteering at Atlantic Care Hospital, I have learned a lot ever since I began volunteering from November. During volunteering I meet different people, I talk to them and have learned new things from them. I stay after school very thursday and help tutor for math. I think that I have take a step forward and help others in any way I can . I consider volunteering as gaining experience, learning new things and most importantly helping the

During my second week of my community health hours, I was placed at River City Food Bank. River City Food Bank’s main goal is to lessen hunger in the Sacramento region by offering healthy food and assistance to vulnerable populations. They do not only provide healthy food but they also provide nutrition education and counseling. In addition, they provide diapers for babies and the older population. They also provide health services for mothers and assist them with contraceptives and other important education for their women daily life. Their mission is to help people from all ages, from homeless to the working poor and families who are struggling.

I met with Maria Thompson and Mark Paxton from the Community Food Bank in regard to their site improvements. The Food Bank is requesting CSDC administer a contract with Avila Construction for their site improvements to San Felipe Rd frontage and parking lot improvement that access their building. The contract amount is $57,461.The Food Bank Board has approved the expense and repayment in full to CSDC if we choose to administer the contract. A repayment agreement between the Food Bank and CSDC would need to be drafted prior to approving any contract.

Specific Purpose: To inform the audience of the workings of the Houston Food Bank and the concepts discussed during the course which were demonstrated through our volunteer experience.

Volunteering to me didn’t seem very pleasing at first. My focus was simply getting the hours I needed to make my resume look good. However, my perspective changed when I began getting involved with the various activities of the community. I enjoyed helping and serving others, seeing the positive impact I made gave me a great satisfaction. Thankfully, I have volunteered in many areas, however there are a few organizations in which I have invested more time and effort.

I love the idea of providing students with a variety of opportunities that would satisfy each student's needs. Whether its research, volunteering and community service, it all is provided here. The curriculum also allows for a great amount of flexibility enabling students to pursue these other interest that would make them very competitive for residencies. I have a great interest in practicing in underserved communities upon graduation, therefore every opportunity I get to volunteer in clinics and shadow physician in underserved regions is something I look forward to here at Western University of Health Sciences. Likewise, the diverse student body is great as each student come from various backgrounds and have unique experiences all of which

Volunteering and participating in service projects are two of the most rewarding activities in my opinion. Some people may find it was a hassle or only do it because they have to meet the minimum requirement for school or work. Helping others, for me, has always been somewhat second nature to me. Over many years of volunteering I believe I have developed qualities that will stick with me for life and benefit me in my career. As early as freshman year, in high school, I found myself looking for ways to give back. I started by looking for opportunities within school, where I came across the A+ tutoring program, and so my journey of giving back began. While tutoring, my patience for others really evolved, partly by choice and partly because

During the time I spent volunteering at John C. Lincoln’s Food Bank, I was able to provide food, individual hygiene items, and infant supplies to families struggling to obtain these critical items for their families. When I first arrived at the food bank, I spent time constructing care packages with soap, toothbrushes, personal wipes, and other essential items for health care. Later in the day, I had the unique opportunity to assist with the simulated grocery store within the food bank. The structure of the store allowed individuals receiving food to feel as though they were actively participating instead of passively accepting food and feeling helpless. Overall, I was able to instill a sense of self-efficiency in individuals who were struggling to provide for their families while personally interacting and sharing my time in a meaningful way.

Two years ago, I was sitting in a dimly lit packing room, wedged between a stalled out pale yellow refrigerator and a stack of boxes, packed to the brim with all sorts of canned fruits and vegetables. People worked quickly here, moving boxes from one corner of the room to another, creating a rhythm of sorts. Thump. Swoosh. Thump. Swoosh. The boxes left in droves as lines of people congregated around the open warehouse door with open hands ready to accept what was offered while statements of gratitude leapt from their tongues. The amount of people waiting outside far outnumbered the volunteers, but the volunteers worked hard, they knew they had to today. It was 104 degrees outside and some of these people standing in line, with children in tow, had been waiting for hours. It was distribution day at the South Texas Food Bank and I was there to help.

Harvest Hope’s mission consists of, “Providing for the needs of hungry people by gathering and sharing quality food. With dignity, compassion, and education (Harvest Hope Food Bank, 2015).” Based on their mission, I was easily motivated to treat all clients with the same dignity, compassion, and respect I would want in receiving services. For example, bread in the bread bins often grows mold on certain sections. I would try and find another pack because I understood the client would appreciate my consideration. Staffing on a daily basis consists of a number of volunteers who help Harvest Hope run smoothly. Food distributed included vegetables, canned drinks, canned goods, fruits, and dairy products. The amount of donated items a family receives is

On August 4, 2015, Vivian Cu and I chose to volunteer at the Second Harvest Food Bank located on 700 Edwards Ave. in New Orleans. Our Tuesday morning of service started at 9AM and ended around 11:30AM. In preparation for my first time at Second Harvest, I wore comfortable clothes that were easy to move around in and that were possible to get dirty in. The man in charge of all volunteer services, Vince, quickly gave me my duty for the day. There is a huge case of canned goods and my job was to put as many canned goods as possible on a conveyor belt. The conveyor belt would carry these cans to many aisles where other volunteers would put them into smaller boxes that had to weigh from fifteen to thirty pounds. After packaging these boxes, Second

One of the other things that I have found very rewarding, is being able to share with other volunteers why I want to help. There are Dordt students who usually help out for a week to fulfill a requirement for a class. There was a nursing class who would send a couple of people every week to help.

Have you ever wondered where you would rest your head at night? Where you would find your next meal? How would support your family given unforeseen sudden circumstances? I’ve never thought about the importance of these questions until a recent experience I had volunteering at a food pantry. There are organizations whose main purpose is to help those in need and provide resources to members of the community who are going through difficult times. A food pantry is a non-profit community serviced organization that provides members of the community with groceries and resources. From volunteering at this food pantry I learned more than ever to never “judge a book, by its cover”, or in other words, even though I person may look well put together on the outside, you never know what it is they are dealing with on the inside. I’ve encountered homeless members of the community, people who have suffered from physical abuse, and people who have experienced unexpected disasters such as house fires to expected job layoffs while volunteering at a food pantry. I’ve also come to appreciate everything that I have in my life from the roof over my head to the food in my stomach and that some people are less fortunate than me.

There are almost as many reasons for getting involved in volunteer work as there are volunteers. Once people get started, they find that their deepest rewards are ones they didn't expect when they first came looking for a volunteer assignment. Participants entered the volunteer world through ads in the paper, articles in the media and invitations by friends. They wanted to get involved in a new community, they overheard someone talking about a need or they just wanted to be active. Some wanted to repay a perceived debt to society and others took up volunteer work as part of a major reassessment of

Being able to help others. You can now volunteer, donate, or help family and friends when people are in need. Helping others makes you feel good too. This is also a stress reliever.