As part of Volunteer Week during Hunger Action Month, we’d like to feature one of our amazing volunteers. Carol has been a cherished supporter of the Ottawa Food Bank for nearly a decade, and we are so grateful that she regularly joins us in our warehouse to lend a helping hand as a volunteer food sorter.
Our Volunteer Coordinator, Jo-Anne, took a few moments of Carol’s time to ask her about what motivates her to support her community. Here is what she had to say:
Q&A with Carol
A: After I retired from a career I thoroughly enjoyed, I wanted to do something to give back to the community. I had admired the work of the Ottawa Food Bank for years and knew it was an organization I would enjoy being associated with as a volunteer.
A: Most importantly, remembering the people in our community who need help providing food for themselves and their families. There is a sense of accomplishment as the donation cages get emptied and the boxes bound for the various emergency food programs get filled. And I get to work with a great group of volunteers and staff.
A: The need to sort the donations of food did not disappear. And selfishly, being able to continue with volunteering gives life a bit of the normalcy I crave. As for the experience of volunteering during a pandemic, hats off to the staff who spent a lot of time and effort redesigning our work area and processes to ensure the safety of the volunteers and the warehouse staff and to help us feel comfortable to continue. We volunteers do our part by wearing masks, practicing strict hand hygiene, and adhering to physically distancing requirements.
Thank you for your kind words, dedication, and generous spirit, Carol.
THANK YOU to Carol and all our volunteers who are helping us get through this pandemic. We could not do it without you. You truly are Ottawa’s Best Volunteers.
To our volunteers who have had to temporarily step away because of the pandemic, we fully understand, and we cannot wait to see you again when things get back to normal.
One Response
My favorite memory of volunteer with the food bank. I serve at one the centres a little boy affectly started calling me miss food bank lady . He knows my name but I am miss food bank lady.