Volunteer of the Month

Michelle

From Yohan:

“I know [she] would prefer to never receive recognition, but the fact of the matter is that [she has] have helped feed thousands of families through the Shop & Stock shift during my time at Heart to Heart. [Michelle has] also been a trusted trainer of new shoppers. And there’s all the organizing [she] did to the mac & cheese and miscellaneous sections… which is heavy VotM energy.

Volunteers of the Month are not chosen lightly. They are people who stand out among the rest.”

From Michelle:

“I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to be a part of such a generous, welcoming community as evidenced week in and week out by the other volunteers, as well as the staff and the clients, of the Heart to Heart food pantry.  While I would like to be able to say that through volunteering I am able to give more than I receive, the truth is that what I give can never equal the joy and positive energy that I experience by being part of such a wonderful organization.”

Sarah Otto

“Our family loves to volunteer together at Heart to Heart food pantry. We try to volunteer during winter and summer breaks. The best part is seeing the bags we helped pack getting passed out each week and feeling a sense of accomplishment for helping in some small way. We live very close to the pantry and my kids always know when it is food donation day, because the cars line up down the street. We are grateful to volunteer at a place that helps so many people.” 

Pat Porterfield

“I know I can’t save the world, but in my part of the world I can make a difference. There is so much need in our community. That’s where my energy goes. I volunteer as much as I can and enjoy everything I do, or I wouldn’t do it. It’s my time to give back and serve. The amount of friends I have made through volunteering is amazing. I have made more friends since I turned 80 than I did my entire life. These friends are not just, ‘Hello, how’s it going?’ friends – they make a big difference in my life.” 

Pat is pictured here (left) with Marshall Edgington (right), a member of the First Community staff.

From Elizabeth:

“As a volunteer with Heart to Heart, we can see every day what our actions mean to our neighbors and guests. Coming together with a broad swath of people from all ages and many different interests, we create a welcoming place for people in need. From gathering together and bringing out food in coolers to unloading fresh produce, creating bags of dry goods, and boxes of garden produce… every effort makes a welcome difference. We enjoy working in all sorts of different locations but most of all enjoy helping people get what they need from what we have to offer. Yohan gathers a few stories from the week’s families and shares these in the newsletter. We get a deeper appreciation each week when we volunteer, and always feel like we have received so much more than we have given.”

From Isaiah’s Mom:

I would also like to share with you how much Isaiah’s volunteer work at Heart to Heart has meant to my husband and me.

The context goes back a few years- In 2021, one of Isaiah’s younger brothers was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor and our life came to a grinding halt as we focused on this urgent need of keeping our child alive.  The original “good prognosis” he was given slipped away when his tumor didn’t respond to chemo as expected and he had to undergo two very long and risky brain surgeries and was unexpectedly hospitalized for three months.  The tumor itself and the brain surgeries left [his brother] with many lasting effects, including physical mobility impairments, vision impairments, fatigue, PTSD, short term memory loss, and traumatic brain injury symptoms- which can be debilitating.  For the past two years we have been struggling with all of these things, and unfortunately the TBI symptoms that [his brother] experiences especially have left us homebound for the most part, and has severely limited what our other kids have been able to be involved in. The difficult recovery that [his brother] has had from his brain tumor created a very different life than we had all been used to prior to [the] diagnosis.  Especially with Isaiah being a teenager, my husband and I wanted him to be spending time with peers and others, getting involved in the community, participating in activities he enjoyed, etc., not homebound like this.  But with our family situation that was really difficult.

In the fall of 2023, I slowly started getting involved in First Community.  I joined the Women’s Guild and started attending The Gathering every Wednesday night.  Isaiah also started attending Crossroads on Sundays- I was so glad to find something that I knew he could consistently be involved in as my husband was off work on Sundays so we knew at least one of us adults could be with Judah at all times, while the other would be available for the rest of our kids needs.  I read about Heart to Heart in the youth ministry weekly emails and thought that would be a great thing for Isaiah to do after awhile, but thought it might be best to just get acclimated to the youth group first and then later try out volunteering at the food pantry.  But, after a week or two Isaiah insisted that we volunteer at Heart to Heart as soon as we could because Sarah kept mentioning that they really needed more volunteers.  My husband works 11am-8pm, so typically isn’t home in the evenings- but Wednesday is his other day off, so the timing actually worked perfectly.  So Isaiah and I signed up to volunteer one Wednesday and like Isaiah said- he hasn’t stopped! He absolutely loves it and always wants to sign up for any possible shift that we can make work out.  He also now volunteers with the Share and Learn Garden after a couple I sat with at The Gathering one evening suggested it as another volunteer opportunity that he might enjoy.  Isaiah had no gardening experience and didn’t know anyone there, but he’s not afraid to try new things and I really admire that about him.

Isaiah loves helping others by volunteering at Heart to Heart, but it’s more than that for him- being involved in these things has done so much for him and our family as well- it has given Isaiah a way to be involved in meaningful work, build community, and do things that he enjoys outside of our house even though we are still limited in general due to [his brother]’s brain tumor recovery.  It’s been a way for him to have a normal life again.  Our life stopped in 2021- for everyone in our family- and it’s taken such a long time to gain back a sense of normalcy.  We’re still struggling with that and figuring it out, but volunteering at Heart to Heart has been a huge part of that for Isaiah. We can’t express how much this means to us.

Thank you so much for these opportunities that Isaiah has at Heart to Heart and for welcoming him to this work.  He really looks up to you and I cannot stress enough how much he loves volunteering at Heart to Heart.