While always aware of hunger and food insecurity, 12 years ago Joe Slaughter witnessed it firsthand. Serving as Vice President and General Manager with Herff Jones at the time, Slaughter began volunteering at Horizon House, which provides multiple services on site and on the street to help all people who are homeless build more stable, secure lives. He began working in outreach and also visited homeless camps, performing outreach services there. Eventually, he began assisting with Opportunity Knocks, a program designed to help individuals achieve their educational and professional goals. During this time, Slaughter became Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Herff Jones.
While committed to Horizon House, Slaughter heard of Second Helpings through his son, who began volunteering at Second Helpings during one summer. He became more familiar with Second Helpings and was asked to be on the Board of Directors shortly after. At first Slaughter refused, afraid he could offer nothing in addition to the work the current board members were doing. When asked again though in 2013, Slaughter accepted and began serving on the board and on the governance committee, where he makes strategic plans and goals with the other board members.
In 2014, he retired from Herff Jones after 41 years. While loving his work on the board, Slaughter looked to get involved in other ways. “I wanted to volunteer at the point of service and see what meals meant in the eyes of the people receiving them.” As a result, he began driving and delivering meals alternate Tuesday mornings when he wasn’t in the kitchen at Horizon House. When Slaughter drives, he sees the leverage that the power of food can have, and also witnesses how many nonprofits in Indianapolis are doing the “dirty work” of helpings others. “It’s encouraging to see the servant work and big hearts of the agencies Second Helpings serves. It’s such important work, and it’s heartening to see how people give their lives to helping others.” Seeing this, and looking into the eyes of children at nurseries and daycares who receive Second Helpings meals make up some of Slaughter’s favorite memories. “It doesn’t get better than seeing those children and hearing them tell you ‘thank you for bringing us food.’”
In addition to the agencies, Slaughter loves being at Second Helpings. “The board is wonderful, and the volunteers and staff are amazing. The organization has such an amazing reputation. Teamwork permeates throughout the building. Everyone does what we need to do in order to get the job done, and it’s an effective, efficient model of transforming lives through food completed by compassionate people.”
It takes a dedicated individual to find ways to get involved in more than one way, and Joe Slaughter epitomizes how individuals can transform lives through the power of food in diverse ways. When asked about his impact though, all he says is, “At Second Helpings, I get a lot more than I give.”
Written by Abby Rolland