The mission of Second Helpings is to transform lives through the power of food. While this regularly applies to rescuing food, feeding the hungry, and teaching job skills to unemployed or underemployed adults, it also relates to special cases. A volunteer is a person who willingly gives their time and energy to achieve a goal – Second Helpings volunteers are incredible people who make it their mission to help others around them. They contribute a great deal to the organization through their donation of time and energy. Second Helpings deeply appreciates its volunteers and all that they do for the organization; the volunteers’ contributions make a world of difference. Sometimes, though, a volunteer’s life is transformed through the power of food.
Since 2012, one volunteer has contributed about 850 hours to support Second Helpings’ mission. He willingly gives his time as a driver companion to take food to partner agencies and people who need them and spends much of his time and energy to help feed and care for other people. He himself is someone who needs food and care though. A homeless veteran, he not only delivered meals to those who need them, he needed meals himself. However, after three years of volunteering, issues around surrounding lack of personal care arose and because of the nature of providing healthy meals at Second Helpings, he could not volunteer.
For a while, he struggled and could not complete an eight-week program dealing with personal care. Finally, Manager of Volunteer Services Adriane Rios connected with his case manager and the volunteer entered and completed the program. A year after leaving Second Helpings, he was welcomed back with open arms. Upon hearing of his ability to return, he went and hugged another volunteer, crying “I’m coming back!” Now, this extremely hardworking and dedicated volunteer willingly fills in for any volunteer position needed on any day of the week, including the hot dish room. Not only is he making a contribution to Second Helpings, he is being fed a hot, nutritious meal every day.
Second Helpings works in mysterious ways. A volunteer who needed help and nourishment now receives a meal for his stomach, but also receives sustenance for his soul. A person who may not have had hope returns almost every day to provide hope to others. This volunteer is a daily example that while Second Helpings changes lives at the partner agency and graduate level, it can transform a volunteer’s life as well.