I have been volunteering in Heart to Heart for about two months now. I am trying to come every Tuesday and Thursday, staying as long as I can. It’s a great pleasure that I get to serve others. I enjoy being here with all these great people.
Annie Varatharajah
Everyone say hello to Mr. Nugget! Annie Varatharajah is June’s Volunteer of the Month. She’s crushed it at Heart to Heart and will soon crush grad school. Thanks for your service!
“I volunteer at Heart to Heart every Tuesday and Thursday I am able to. My availability changes but I try to schedule things around H2H because I really enjoy volunteering here. I started coming in August and I have not stopped. I enjoy it and love everyone here as well. I’m moving to Seattle in a couple of months and honestly coming to Heart to Heart will be the thing I miss the most. Everyone is so kind and it makes me happy being around people that are so warm-hearted (which includes our clients too)!”
Orion Wang
Orion has been volunteering with us since early on in the pandemic. He is a student at the Ohio State University. Here’s what Orion had to say:
“Coming to Heart to Heart is my two times a week that I can have my full reset. When I show up, the faces that greet me always share the most warm and refreshing welcome. I have never had a bad day when going to volunteer here because every day I go, they treat me like family and that’s what we do with the people that we see come through the pantry. We love and treat everyone with the love and compassion that come through the pantry. Heart to Heart is amazing!”
John and Michele McCandless
“We have worked at Heart to Heart over a year and volunteer for food distribution on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. We became involved for a few reasons. We had worked at a food pantry run by Lutheran Social Services for a number of years before joining First Community. LSS chose another model as an alternative to the traditional food pantry and our work stopped.
We volunteer at Heart to Heart because we want to be part of people’s success story. Sometimes, all anyone needs is a little help. So many people have said to us, “I’ve never done this before.” “I’m ashamed to be here.” “I didn’t know where else to turn.” To be there for someone in their time of need helps us to be ‘fully human,’ to maybe begin to realize why we were placed on this earth.
We also joined Heart to Heart for purely selfish reasons. We are relatively new residents of Columbus and definitely new members of First Community. We wanted to meet people. We have always belonged to relatively small churches where it was easy to meet people and find your niche. We thought the more involved we became at First Community, the sooner we would feel a comfortable fit in this large congregation. We have met many nice people at Heart to Heart, both co-workers and clients and get so much more back than we give in the few hours we volunteer. In the dark days of Covid-19 over the past year, coming to Heart to Heart was the highlight to our week. We truly looked forward to being there and treasured the moments.”
Julia Molnar
“Thank you so much; I’m very honored… I volunteer at Heart to Heart almost every week either doing stocking or helping serve people at the pantry. I’ve been volunteering at Heart to Heart since last summer and it’s been so rewarding! My favorite part of volunteering at Heart to Heart are the interactions, whether it be with the amazing people I volunteer with each week or the amazing people who we serve, I love meeting and talking to everyone, it always makes my day. I look forward to being able to continue volunteering at Heart to Heart however I can!”
Bryan "Smitty" Smith
“First of all, big thanks to the many volunteers I encounter in my involvement with Heart to Heart! You’re wonderful people doing great things! Along with the occasional help project at Heart to Heart (which we love to jump in on with my Brother & Sister-in-law, Ben & Jen Smith, and their family, my beloved nieces and nephews!) I pick up groceries from Target Hilliard and bring them to H2H to drop off, weigh, sort and shelve! Just a small part of the mission a few hours a week, but I’m proud to say I’ve been able to complete my assignment through thick and thin, each and every week this year. Call it my winning streak!
However, I am totally humbled to be selected as volunteer of the month for August 2020 – and I know there are many that deserve more praise and accolades than me… this is dedicated to all of you! So for the past two years, I’ve had my consistent routine, thanks to the organizational skills and all-around awesomeness of Heart to Heart Director, my great friend Lamar Graham. I actually met Lamar a couple of years ago at my nephew’s Eagle Scout Ceremony (Matthew built the beautiful benches outside at Heart to Heart for his final project!) Well, Lamar gave an incredible speech about Matthew, that was so spot-on; describing my nephew’s attributes, his humility, his kindness, and his spirit of giving, that it absolutely compelled me to learn more about Heart to Heart… and true friendship and a consistent routine was born! Every week, the morning I spend in giving is a powerful reminder of what’s important and a healthy dose of perspective.
I encourage anyone who sees this to jump at the opportunity to participate in anything and everything Heart to Heart does, even if it can only be in a limited capacity! They have an online signup system and Lamar will make greatness happen with your help! I’m truly honored to receive any praise for something that is already so rewarding, and all I want to do is use this platform to invite others to join the Heart to Heart mission, in a capacity that works for you, particularly in the upcoming times of uncertainty and need! Hope to see you. Thanks and God Bless!”
Smitty
Smitty and Creative Canvas Columbus are doing a fundraiser in August benefitting Heart to Heart. See the flyer below for details.
Bob Argo
After some convincing, Bob reluctantly agreed to be put in the spotlight this month! He has been working with volunteer Steve McClarren for about a year. On Fridays at 6 am, they pick up frozen meat from the Giant Eagle at Kingsdale and deliver it to the freezers in Lincoln Road Chapel. Steve has been doing this for a while now and was our volunteer of the month in April 2017. Here’s what Bob had to say about volunteering with Steve for Heart to Heart:
“The most rewarding part of volunteering is working with Steve. At 6 AM he is always alert, chipper, and amiable. We work well together.”
Bob Argo
Claudia Dusseau
“Thursdays have become my very favorite day of the week. It is the day that I volunteer at Heart to Heart and I have the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful and interesting clients and I get to work with the very best volunteers in the world. It is just such a joyous place to be no matter what is going on in the world or your world. You know that Heart to Heart will offer you kindness and calmness and a place to belong if only for a short time. I love to watch “it” happen to volunteers and clients alike when they come together to serve or be served. There is nothing like it! Lamar wants all of us to gain something positive from our time together. He encourages us to take the time to get to know clients and their families as we walk with them through the Heart to Heart grocery experience. Like magic clients often open up and we all feel better being together with a common purpose…listening and sharing.”
Claudia Dusseau