VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION MONTH
A realization that stays with you: Don Parker
Don Parker plays golf in the mornings. On Tuesday nights, he volunteers in the warehouse. On Thursdays, he helps stock the food pantry. For the past six years, that's just been his rhythm.
Why does he do it? He's been blessed, he says, and there are people out there whose needs haven't been met. So, he shows up.
The feeling you get walking out that door
Ask Don what he loves most about volunteering, and he doesn't hesitate.
"I just can't imagine someone being hungry, especially kids. It's just a good feeling when you walk out that door knowing that you played a part in maybe helping someone be able to eat that night."
That feeling is grounded in building boxes for seniors who depend on a consistent food source each month and packing for high school students who might otherwise go a weekend without enough to eat. Two groups, two very different life stages, and one volunteer who thinks about both every time he shows up.
"Knowing that those two groups, their needs are being met, "he says, is one of the reasons he enjoys volunteering.
He didn't keep it to himself
Don has done what the best volunteers do: he told people. Members of his Thursday morning Bible study have come and volunteered alongside him. Friends from his community have shown up because he invited them.
It's a quiet kind of impact, not a campaign or a formal drive, just one person who believes in the work enough to say, come see for yourself.
"I wish people knew the feeling that you get by helping other people. I also wish people knew what being a part of an organization like God's Pantry Food Bank is like. It's just unbelievable the amount of needs that they meet, not only in our community, but throughout Kentucky."
An opportunity, not a sacrifice
"There's a realization when you volunteer. You realize that you've been blessed your whole life, and there are many people out there whose needs have not been met. And you get an opportunity to try your best to help meet those needs."
He doesn't frame it as a sacrifice. He frames it as an opportunity, the chance to do something with the good fortune he's had. That's a meaningful distinction.
"I've been blessed my entire life, and you just want to go out and try to make a difference, not only in the community, but in people's lives."
