We love our volunteers at A&H! While we normally spotlight the individuals who freely give of their time and efforts to the A&H, during this time of crisis, we want to celebrate volunteerism by focusing on one of our amazing staff members who volunteers regularly within the local community. Events Manager Sarah Schultz is our newest staff member, having joined our team in December of 2019. We asked her a few questions about the volunteer work she does with Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida:
Why do you volunteer?
I have been volunteering my whole life, so at this point I guess I would call it a hobby and one of my life long passions. I love giving back to my community and I have always been amazed by the remarkable people you can meet through volunteering.
How long have you been volunteering at Second Harvest, and what drew you to help this particular organization?
I have been volunteering with Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida for over a year now. I moved to Central Florida just over a year ago from Chicago, where I had loved volunteering for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. From my first day volunteering with Second Harvest I felt a part of the team, their mission has become incredibly important to me and I am proud to be one of their volunteer captains.
How is Second Harvest helping the local community right now?
In Central Florida, 1 in 7 individuals are food insecure, and Second Harvest is able to help provide food for over 500 partner feeding programs across 6 counties with the help of their amazing donors, volunteers and dedicated staff.
Can I help, too?
Right now we are seeing over a 60% increase in demand for food assistance. Second Harvest is working diligently to sort donated product and purchase bulk items to be able to keep up with the demand in our community, but they can only do that with the community’s help. Right now if you are looking for a way to help your community please consider one of these ways to give back: right now the biggest help is financial donations, a $10 donation = 40 meals. If you would like to do a food drive, there is a simple virtual food drive that you can start and share with your friends and family through feedhopenow.org.
Lastly, please let your community know that there is help available, if you go onto feedhopenow.org and put in your zip code you will be able to find the food pantry nearest you. The mission at Second Harvest is to fight hunger and feed hope, and in these uncertain times it is important to remind each other that you are not in this alone and we can get through it together.
Thank you, Sarah! And thanks to all our community’s volunteers who make a difference now and every day!