The SAI Volunteer Group Gives the Gift of Presence
Mim Hunt, founder of God’s Pantry Food Bank, was our first volunteer. Mim saw people in need of food in her community, and was so moved to take action that she carved time out of her daily life to help. Mim accepted the responsibility of gathering and storing food, asking for donations, loading her station wagon, and delivering food directly to those she served. As they saw the impact of her work, others joined Mim in her mission. 65 years after Mim’s first volunteer food distribution, Food Bank volunteers give us, on average, more than 30,000 hours of their time and effort each year.
Food Bank volunteers help us with a wide variety of projects. From regular food sorting and repacking shifts and hours answering our intake line to less frequent project-based jobs like helping at one of our events or assisting with large mailings, volunteers play a role in almost everything we do. The commitment of volunteers to support our staff and our mission is essential to our work, and many have made their time at God’s Pantry Food Bank a regular part of their lives.
The SAI volunteer group began spending their free time with God’s Pantry Food Bank in the nineties – over 25 years ago! The group members, many of whom are originally from India, wanted to help people in need of basic necessities, and have found a rewarding home at the Food Bank. Some of the group began volunteering at the Food Bank as middle school students! Now adults with jobs and families of their own, they are introducing the next generation to the rewards of service to others.
SAI volunteer group coordinator, Rama Aroon, says, “My parents always helped people in need. They taught me that hands that give are holier than hands that pray.”
Volunteering is important to the group. Rama explains, “We believe that all service should be regarded as an offering to God.”
The current COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted our whole society, and has definitely impacted the Food Bank. In order to keep our volunteers safe, we greatly limited the opportunities and have modified all procedures to make sure that volunteers are safe and protected. These modifications mean that our valued groups like the SAI group aren’t able to spend time with us, and we miss them.
April is National Volunteer Month, and April 19-25 is set aside specifically as National Volunteer Week. We want to wrap up this week by thanking long-term volunteer groups like SAI, who have decided to run a fund drive since they can’t help us in our warehouse right now, as well as the volunteers that are a part of our critical response team who help us make sure that visitors to our pantries receive emergency food boxes in the safest way possible.
Every volunteer makes a difference. Every hour spent volunteering with the Food Bank has an impact on someone in need. We can’t wait to see you all again.
If you are a healthy individual between 15-50 and would like to help us fight hunger in these challenging times, please join our Critical Response Voluntee
