As we celebrate National Volunteer Week, we are taking an opportunity to recognize and appreciate those who have given their time, dedication, and heart to our community, especially in the past year.
In 2020, 1,259 volunteers spent a total of 20,560 hours helping neighbors in need at Lifelong—that adds up to more than $500,000 in program support that we rely on to provide neighbors living with serious and life-challenging illnesses with nutritious food to support their health.
Volunteers play a key role in our medically-tailored meals assembly line. After food has been prepped for by cooks and prepared to perfection, it is then portioned and packaged by volunteers into 800-1,100 meals and the food is then frozen to preserve its nutrients. Creating an entire day’s worth of meals takes morning, afternoon, and evening shifts of staff and volunteers to keep up with the growing demand.
“It takes longer to get the meals packaged than it does to cook them, and that’s why we are so grateful for volunteer support,” says Ben, a Lifelong cook.
Volunteers provide much-needed help, but also an energy boost for Lifelong staff.
“With the pandemic, there’s a whole lot of negatives, but one big positive is that we now have a tight-knit group of volunteers,” says Ben. “They know your story, you know their story, and we all look forward to seeing each other.”
Having strong relationships with volunteers has been a win-win for our staff, other volunteers, and even our neighbors who we serve. Last week, a group of volunteers who have been working together regularly over the past year, ran into an issue when trying to package their daily meals. The sauce was sticking to the meal tray and preventing the film from sealing the outside packaging. While this could have caused a delay from getting these meals out the door and been a hectic situation for someone new to the kitchen, the volunteers knew each other and the work so well, they efficiently solved the problem on their own and finished meals on time, all while laughing and having a good time.
“I am seeing more and more groups like this who are becoming friends and exchanging numbers,” says Ben. “I will even pair up volunteers because I know they want to be together. It’s just been really heartwarming to see.”
We are so thankful for our volunteers who help expand access to our food and nutrition services to neighbors across King, Snohomish, Island Counties, and beyond. They lift our spirits with their upbeat energy each and every volunteer shift. We could not do this work with you!
“Anyone who is going to take time out of their weekly routine to do something for someone else is definitely a person that I feel honored to spend time with,” says Ben. “Not everyone gets to hang out with selfless people every day. It’s very contagious.”