Similarities

For the past few weeks, I have been volunteering for two hours each Wednesday at the Volunteers of America Food Bank in Everett. So far I have spent 13 hours there pulling carts, telling customers what to do, preparing bags and boxes for convenient shopping, and standing at the produce counter. During those hours, I have realized that most of the people who volunteer to help the food bank are rather poor too, instead of average "middle class" people.

When I first went to my service site, I expected the volunteers to be more like me, but most of them are not. One of the men working there has only been in America for eight months, and another girl has to get food stamps for her and her daughter. However, I think their willingness to spend hours at the food bank comes from their sympathy for the people who need food. All of the peole I worked with were nice, and ready to help whereever needed.

After being at the food bank for a while, I realized that at other community services I had done, I was in my comfort zone. Most of the time I was surrounded by my friends and we were all helping in the warehouse when the people who benefit from our work were not around, so I was surprised when I made the discovery that on the lower levels of a working food bank, many of the helpers need help as well. This is a wake up call for all of us who are privileged. Those who have little are giving more to people poorer than them, but I know people who balk at donating money or gifts once a month to different charities.

This is a call to action for me. I have so much, but I feel like I give so little. Spending time for others instead of just on myself, benefits more than just one person, and that is a quality way to spend time.

Team Work

There are needy people all over the world, and there are many people willing to help them, but too often, the people who can help are unaware of how to get started. It can be very intimidating to go to a strange place and help poor people that normally you would never socialize with and may feel uncomfortable being around them. I have found that it is much easier to help when there are other people who can support and help alongside you. Even the people who accomplish huge projects that most people would never dream of did not do it alone. Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, authors of the book Three Cups of Tea, wrote of Mortenson's experience in Pakistan where he was aided by many people to build schools; at the Volunteers of America Food Bank in Everett, I have been volunteering with other people who have helped me learn how I can help.

In Pakistan, Greg Mortenson promised Haji Ali, the leader of Korphe, that he would build a school for the children of the village. It took Mortenson quite a few years to complete this task, and he went on to build other schools for villages who needed them just as much as Korphe did, but he did not complete these schools alone. He recieved needed help from people who were ready to give it without him asking. "Without Ghulam Parvi, I never would have accomplished anything in Pakistan," (Mortenson 138). Parvi was only one of Mortenson's many helpers. He was also helped by the people of Korphe who were willing to cut the stones for the village without pay. This sacrifice saved Mortenson a lot of money that would have been wasted on lazy workers. Haji Ali guided Mortenson through building the Korphe school, and his help taught Mortenson valuable lessons that he uses often. After the school of Korphe was built, Mortenson moved on to other projects and it was through the help of his team members that he was able to spend most of his time in the States while building other schools in Pakistan.

Through my time at the Volunteers of America Food Bank, I have been aided by the other volunteers running the food bank. If I had simply been put in the food bank without any instructions or other volunteers to help me I would have had no idea what to do, but because I have had experience volunteers to teach me I have been able to adjust quickly to the pace of the food bank. It has a certain process that each customer must go through and the volunteers are there to help them through it. We help them by getting out carts, pre-opening bags, collecting their shopping tickets, making sure they get the correct amount of items, and loading groceries into their vehicles. All of these jobs can be are pretty straight forward, but overwhelming when someone is completely new to them. Without the help of the other volunteers I would have had no idea what to do. My first day, I mostly stood around for the first hour and watched while they taught me the many ways they help the shoppers. This reminds me of Mortenson's first time in Korphe. He sees how poor the village is and he wants to know how to help, but it isn't until he's spent some time in the village that he learns the best way he can help them.

Without the help of other people, someone would not be able to accomplish as much. I have heard the analogy that a person is like a piece of thread that can break easily, but when many people with the same goal come together, their threads combine and becomes a strong cord. Team work is key when a person wants to accomplish something big. Everyone needs help, even the helpers themselves.

Service Learning Begins

For my service learning site, I chose the Volunteers of America Food Bank in Everett. According to their main website, Volunteers of America was founded 113 years ago with the vision, "go wherever we are needed and do whatever comes to hand." The volunteers serve all kinds of people including elderly, at risk people and families, needy children, and people recovering from addictions. On the Volunteers of America Western Washington website, they state that the main ways they serve are by food banks, shelters, giving phone calls to the homeless, and "Emergency Services" programs.
At the Everett Food Bank I will be serving all kinds of people from different countries and cultures. On the wall inside the bank there are signs in over 5 different language. When I was at the food bank, the majority of the people we helped were Caucasians, Mexicans, and Chinese, but there were many other nationalities represented as well. Their economic statuses varied widely. One lady wore Hollister clothes and looked just like any person you'd see at the mall, but others were obviously poor and looked like the homeless people you see standing on the side of the street. Many of the people who came to get food were elderly or in their mid thirties and had 2 or 3 children with them. The number of women we served was greater than the number of men, but I would not say that is always the case. These people are not so different from the ones I see everyday, only their circumstances, and that is what brings them to the food bank.
The set up of the food bank is that of a very small grocery store. The customers go to the cans and grains on the shelves, to the freezers, then they circle around to the produce, and end by getting small packages of soups and deserts. Bread is given out in great quantities, and unlike every other item, the people can take as much bread as they want. When they are done shopping they can unload their cart outside and then give the cart to a volunteer who will take it back inside the food bank.
When I was there, there were about 10 volunteers helping out at the food bank. I did not have to do much for the first hour or so that I was there. So I restocked the cereal on the shelves pulled carts out for the next customer. Eventually I was put in charge of the 3 produce items we had for the day and made sure everybody only took one bag of each. From the produce counter, I could see everyone in the food bank and observe how the volunteers who had been there for years helped out. If needed, they helped the handicapped shoppers and reached into the freezers for everybody. One man came in who needed a cane to walk, and he was so hungry that he opened a bag of rolls and started eating it inside the food bank. He apologized, but we all understood. When I had handed out all of cabbage I started giving out bags of giant tortillas. All the people who came through were shocked at the size of them and most seemed excited to try one. Almost all the costumers said thank you when I handed them potatoes and I responded with a smile, glad that I could help.
I'm happy that I chose this site to volunteer at. I have been to a food bank before, and have gone to a Northwest Harvest warehouse twice, but I have never directly helped the people who benefit from these facilites. Before, I was there when the food bank was closed and we were just preparing for their next opening. Now I have been able to see and help the people who go to the food banks, and I am looking forward to helping them when I do service learning next week.