How does the Food Shuttle find new volunteers? Well, one way is ‘everyone bring one,’ where an established volunteer introduces a friend, and that friend brings in another … and on, and on. A great example of this method at work is our Tuesday Glenwood Route team: Bob Minick, Lester Staub, and Jim Dolan.
Bob Minick has volunteered on various truck routes for about five years. “I learned the ropes from Warren Shaw,” he says, crediting one of our longest-serving volunteers. In turn, Bob suggested volunteering to his friend Lester a couple years ago. “We go to the same gym, I knew he could do it.” Then Lester convinced his friend Jim Dolan to give it a try. “It took me about six months to talk him into it.”
Jim notes that being retired, he first just wanted some way to fill time and do some good. But as he became better informed about the programs and philosophy of the Food Shuttle, it grew into something more for him.
Bob likes getting to know people on both sides of our Food Recovery & Distribution efforts—from the employees at our food donors who sort, pack and prepare donations for pickup, to the people receiving deliveries in the kitchen at Healing Transitions and other recipient agencies. “They are really good folks!”
All of them like meeting other volunteers of diverse backgrounds, and are grateful for the opportunity to be productive in an enjoyable environment. “We enjoy the camaraderie, joking around … and of course, we all go out for lunch afterward!”
Perhaps you would like to come meet new friends, or reconnect with an old one. Look into our volunteer opportunities here.