Ever wonder, “Who is that lovely lady that seems to help out with just about everything?” It’s Francine Stonehouse! She began volunteering in February of this year and has already served over 250 hours. I know, right?! It isn’t even December yet!
Francine learned about Second Helpings while volunteering at another wonderful local nonprofit, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. She has volunteered with their organization for several years and kept hearing other folks talk about the impact our mission was making on the community. When she came to visit she said, “Color me happy!” She decided to spread the word and has recruited many of her friends and family members to our volunteer family, too.
She knows no limits when it comes to volunteer tasks and varies her time between Food Rescue, the Hunger Relief Kitchen, Meal Delivery, Bread Sorting, Special Events, and being a Kitchen Lead for volunteer groups. Oh yeah, and just being a big, bright ray of sunshine. You can typically catch her volunteering on Tuesday through Thursday of each week, but don’t blink because you might miss her when she steps in to fill a last-minute need in another area.
What motivates Francine to spend so much time at Second Helpings? She says, “It’s important for me to give back and Second Helpings provides so many opportunities to do just that. It’s a pleasure to work with people who share your ideals and who genuinely love what they do. Also, the diversity of things that one can do appeals to my inner need for change. Volunteering at Second Helpings has provided me the opportunity to work with wonderful people, to see parts of this city that I did not know existed, and to feel a sense of accomplishment in the work that gets done.” Her most proud accomplishment is “powering through hundreds of pounds of produce.”
As if being at Second Helpings three days a week isn’t enough, Francine also volunteers with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, the 500 Festival, the annual Liver Life Walk, Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society, the State Museum, Irish Fest, Scottish Highland Games & Festival, and WFYI. Her three Chihuahua rescues keep her on her toes with their crazy antics, and travel has always been a steady pursuit since she has a bitty travel trailer that is requesting more adventures. With a background in language and linguistics and a career deeply immersed in the world of words, grammar, standards, structure, etc., her desire to add more stamps to her passport is something she hopes to accomplish in the coming years.
So to sum it all up, color US happy, Francine! You are a real treasure – not only to Second Helpings, but to the entire Indy community. Your tireless volunteer efforts to help us transform lives through the power of food are invaluable. Seeing your bright smile each week reminds us of how fortunate we are to have the most amazing volunteer family in the entire world!
Are you interested interested in learning more about opportunities to serve your community, like Francine?