On Shift: Packing and Delivering with the Kelliher Center, JF&CS, and Beaverbrook
If you’ve been following our on-shift blog posts, you already know that Food Link’s volunteer program is extensive and flexible. We have over 200 shifts each week that cover pickups, drop-offs, sorting, packing, van driving, and more. Our program’s versatility allows volunteers of a wide range of interests, skills, and abilities to find their place at Food Link. Our volunteers are powerful, dependable, and astute, but it’s not enough to simply wax poetic about our volunteers. We want to showcase the people behind the numbers.
For this article, our Admin Assistant, Darcy, interviewed three volunteer groups from organizations that empower adults with disabilities. Read on to learn more about the skills these volunteers have learned, the connections they have fostered, and the delightful moments they’ve had at Food Link.
Introducing the Organizations
Image Description: A group photo of five volunteers from Beaverbrook STEP smiling at the camera.
The Kelliher Center, JF&CS CHAI Disability Services, and Beaverbrook STEP are all programs that prepare adults with developmental disabilities for employment opportunities through community-building activities and hands-on learning. Every Wednesday, around six volunteers come from the Kelliher Center to help pack bagels and other foods at the Hub. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, JF&CS volunteer groups transport food from the Hub to various recipient agencies including Preserve North, East End House, and Bread of Life. In addition to delivering food on Mondays and Thursdays, our Beaverbrook volunteer groups sort at the Hub on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The diverse spectrum of shifts allows our volunteers to develop valuable life skills and make connections with a variety of people.
Building Skills, Building Confidence
The volunteers describe Food Link as a place to practice life skills and build confidence. Tyler, a Kelliher Center volunteer who excels at packing bagels, loves the routine of volunteering at Food Link. He likes making sure that only four bagels are placed in each bag and that the bags themselves are organized by bagel type. He has been volunteering at Food Link for about a year, and he already identifies the Hub as the “greatest place.”
Similarly, Amanda, a Beaverbrook volunteer who packs food on Thursdays, loves how volunteering at Food Link allows her to give back to her community while exercising her leadership skills and deepening her confidence. She appreciates being treated as a human who is just as capable as everyone else at Food Link.
Image Description: Amanda smiles while holding a bag of bagels in one hand and doing the peace sign with the other.
Beyond the Hub, JF&CS volunteers enjoy visiting different organizations and workplaces when delivering food. Through these site visits, the volunteers learn more about how certain workplaces operate, preparing them for future employment opportunities.
The Friends and Connections We Make Along the Way
Besides building their own skills, the volunteers also like making connections with Food Link staff, other volunteers, and our recipient agencies. Both Nathaniel of the Kelliher Center and Zachary of Beaverbrook enjoy interacting with the staff at Food Link. “All the staff are amazing,” Zachary asserts. He especially likes doing special tasks like mopping for Emma, Food Link’s Senior Operations Coordinator and Thursday Operations lead.
The volunteers also appreciate having the opportunity to make connections. Zachary and Amanda make a powerful bagel-packing duo on Thursdays, with Zachary bagging the bagels and Amanda tying the bags. Jermaine, another Beaverbrook volunteer, loves that he is able to help his friends, meet nice people, and get to know everyone more. He likes to wear a new outfit each shift that matches the occasion.
Image Description: Jermaine smiles while standing over his completed box of packaged bagels.
Another one of our volunteers’ favorite parts is interacting with our recipient agencies. The JF&CS volunteers love dropping off food and seeing firsthand how their actions support others. “They get to know they’ve helped,” says Shay, a JF&CS coordinator. Likewise, Jermaine enjoys meeting people from other agencies and Nathaniel hopes that Food Link will expand to support even more communities.
Opening Room for Joy
While Food Link shifts do require dedication and focus, our volunteers still find room for joy and excitement. Nathaniel recalls that Food Link once received a flying toy ball, which he and other Kelliher Center volunteers watched in fascination zoom around the Hub. Meanwhile, Amanda remembers dancing along to hip hop songs at Food Link, and Jermaine likes listening to music while he packs bagels.
When asked if he has advice for aspiring Food Link volunteers, Zachary said, “Have fun and work hard.”
Image Description: Zachary smiles while holding up a bag of bagels.
With gratitude for all of our Kelliher Center, JF&CS, and Beaverbrook volunteers and interviewees, we now conclude this episode of On Shift. See you next time!
If you would like to volunteer at Food Link as a group like our Kelliher Center, JF&CS, and Beaverbrook volunteers, we encourage you to sign up on our Group Volunteering page! Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media to keep up with all Food Link news. If you have any questions, email us at info@foodlinkma.org or call us at 781-819-4225.