“I really enjoyed volunteering at Heart to Heart. I had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people who always put a smile on my face. Helping others is a rewarding experience and something I’m extremely grateful for. I will never forget the kindness among all the people I met through volunteering at Heart to Heart. One thing I learned from volunteering at Heart to Heart is: kindness costs nothing, but means everything.”
Amy Caskie is the Director of Missions at First Community. Next week, she will celebrate 10 years employed at First Community, though she has had many roles at the church. She was originally hired to be the Administrative Coordinator for Camp Akita, but quickly moved into the role of Administrative Coordinator for Missions. After some time in that role, she became the Administrator of Missions, and is now the Director. Her role includes oversight of all Missions, including the Refugee Ministry, Tri-Village Trading Post and Heart to Heart.
Amy grew up on the westside of Cleveland, Ohio, as the youngest of 4 siblings (or 6 or 8 or 15 depending on how you define “sibling”). Suffice to say, she has a big family. She attended high school at St. Joseph Academy. Amy then graduated with a BA in Art History in 2005 from the University of Dayton, where she met her husband, Jared. They were married on New Year’s Eve, 2007. After graduating, they found jobs in the Central Ohio area, first living in Powell, then Grove City, and now just a one-minute drive from First Community North in Columbus. They have two kids, Lucy (11) and Bennett (8) and two dogs, Beverly (6) and Harriet (5). Jared is an accountant and the kids are in sixth and second grade, respectively. Amy likes to say her hobbies include being a mom, making lists, and sleeping when she can. But in reality, she enjoys DIY, crafts, elaborate birthday parties and comedy (stand-up and movies).
Fun facts that you didn’t ask for:
Amy & Jared
Lucy & Ben
Beverly & Harriet
Amy & her siblings
The Amys
Households served via Drive-Thru
Households served via Pop-Up Pantry
Better late than never! Our 2022 annual report is now available on our website.
Click the button below to view open shifts and sign up to volunteer online!
Tuesday, August 22
Wednesday, August 23
Thursday, August 24
Friday, August 25
It’s that time of year again! Students are headed back to school and that means they can’t volunteer during the day. We are grateful for their service this summer and sorry to see them go. Can you help in their absence? We are looking for volunteers starting next week. Check out the link above to see where you might be able to help.
The Mid-Ohio Food Collective offers regular training opportunities for food pantry staff and volunteers. For volunteers, the most useful trainings are FreshTrak and Food Safety. These trainings, specifically, will help you learn more about pantry operations and make you an even more effective volunteer! They also occasionally offer training on advocacy, and other topics that may be of interest to you.
For most trainings, volunteers will need to register with an agency name and number: Heart to Heart Agency #1042
This online via zoom workshop will provide the fundamentals to get started with FreshTrak at your agency. Participants with learn how to administer the intake process using FreshTrak and will be guided on best practices for developing an efficient process in registering your clients. For agencies already using FreshTrak, this workshop will be helpful as a refresher of the basics.
We are excited to announce that MOFC/Agency Services is launching a brand new Person in Charge (Level 1) Food Safety Training developed by Feeding America and ServSafe.
This training is targeted to those who partner with foodbanks and is much more relevant to the work you are doing in your communities.
The new FA Food Safety will be offered, online, at no-cost to your agency AND even more exciting is the fact that once taken and successfully passed, the certification never expires for the person who takes the training!
The following dates and times will be available to choose from:
Households served via Drive-Thru
Households served via Pop-Up Pantry
Click the button below to view open shifts and sign up to volunteer online!
Wednesday, August 16
Thursday, August 17
Friday, August 18
Please note the truck from MOFB will not arrive until Wednesday, August 16. We will need extra help unloading that day.
During worship August 13, Heart to Heart is holding a Backpack and School Supply Drive for clients of our Pop-Up Pantry at Riverview International Center. Fill a new backpack with all new school supplies and bring it with you to worship on Sunday! A complete list of requested supplies can be found at h2h.fcchurch.com/monthlydrives. If you are attending services at North, please look for the donation station sign in the parking lot and drop off your donations before you come inside! If you’re attending services at South, please look for the donation cart at Crane welcome center, where you can drop off your donation with our volunteer.
The Mid-Ohio Food Collective offers regular training opportunities for food pantry staff and volunteers. For volunteers, the most useful trainings are FreshTrak and Food Safety. These trainings, specifically, will help you learn more about pantry operations and make you an even more effective volunteer! They also occasionally offer training on advocacy, and other topics that may be of interest to you.
For most trainings, volunteers will need to register with an agency name and number: Heart to Heart Agency #1042
This online via zoom workshop will provide the fundamentals to get started with FreshTrak at your agency. Participants with learn how to administer the intake process using FreshTrak and will be guided on best practices for developing an efficient process in registering your clients. For agencies already using FreshTrak, this workshop will be helpful as a refresher of the basics.
We are excited to announce that MOFC/Agency Services is launching a brand new Person in Charge (Level 1) Food Safety Training developed by Feeding America and ServSafe.
This training is targeted to those who partner with foodbanks and is much more relevant to the work you are doing in your communities.
The new FA Food Safety will be offered, online, at no-cost to your agency AND even more exciting is the fact that once taken and successfully passed, the certification never expires for the person who takes the training!
The following dates and times will be available to choose from:
The safety of the children we serve is our top priority, so anyone who volunteers with children or is a staff member (whether you work with children or not) at First Community is required to attend our Darkness to Light sexual abuse prevention training. We are asking Heart to Heart volunteers to take this training, as we work in and around the building when Preschool is in session. The training is now offered at no cost to our volunteers. Please consider enrolling to learn how to better protect our children.
Register by Friday, August 18.
(in pounds)
Households served via Drive-Thru
Households served via Pop-Up Pantry
Click the button below to view open shifts and sign up to volunteer online!
Monday, August 7
Wednesday, August 9
Thursday, August 10
Friday, August 11
We weren’t able to get a few of our pantry staples on our last order, so we are reaching out to our community to ask for these donations: jelly, rice, canned soups, boxed side dishes and dinners.
Donation instructions at h2h.fcchurch.com/donate
In July, the Pop Up Pantry, delivered to the following sites:
Pop Up 2023 Monthly totals:
YTD: Individuals/families served: 1,279
The safety of the children we serve is our top priority, so anyone who volunteers with children or is a staff member (whether you work with children or not) at First Community is required to attend our Darkness to Light sexual abuse prevention training. Re-certification for staff or volunteers who work with children is required every three years.
We are asking Heart to Heart volunteers to take this training, as we work in and around the building when Preschool is in session. The training is now offered at no cost to our volunteers. Please consider enrolling to learn how to better protect our children.
The Mid-Ohio Food Collective offers regular training opportunities for food pantry staff and volunteers. For volunteers, the most useful trainings are FreshTrak and Food Safety. These trainings, specifically, will help you learn more about pantry operations and make you an even more effective volunteer! They also occasionally offer training on advocacy, and other topics that may be of interest to you.
For most trainings, volunteers will need to register with an agency name and number: Heart to Heart Agency #1042
This online via zoom workshop will provide the fundamentals to get started with FreshTrak at your agency. Participants with learn how to administer the intake process using FreshTrak and will be guided on best practices for developing an efficient process in registering your clients. For agencies already using FreshTrak, this workshop will be helpful as a refresher of the basics.
We are excited to announce that MOFC/Agency Services is launching a brand new Person in Charge (Level 1) Food Safety Training developed by Feeding America and ServSafe.
This training is targeted to those who partner with foodbanks and is much more relevant to the work you are doing in your communities.
The new FA Food Safety will be offered, online, at no-cost to your agency AND even more exciting is the fact that once taken and successfully passed, the certification never expires for the person who takes the training!
The following dates and times will be available to choose from:
In July, the Pop Up Pantry, delivered to the following sites:
Pop Up 2023 Monthly totals:
YTD: Individuals/families served: 1,279
Our team welcomed new volunteers: Sandee Reim and her daughter, Chloe. It was so nice to have them join us. Both were a great help and they hope to return.
We are aware of some of the issues Southpark Apartments has been experiencing these recent months. We are watching the news carefully and if at any time we do not feel safe, we will not put ourselves in harm’s way. We set up our pantry in the park/playground area along with several other volunteers from Franklinton Farms. During the summer months we have also been joined by the Columbus City School district as they serve lunches each day in the same area. There are a lot of families that come to take advantage of the food being offered by us all. Since there have been many large families with 8-12 in a household we will adjust accordingly with our food supply.
Heart to Heart/Pop Up Pantry will be kicking off our backpack drive August 1. We are planning to deliver over 150 filled backpacks to Riverview International Center before school begins mid-August. Look for the Heart to Heart blog for more information.
Our team is continually blessed and grateful for everyone who contributes to Heart to Heart and the Pop Up Pantry with their continued donations and service.
~Rose and Melody
