Like a good neighbor...

Today when I arrived at the Alameda Food Bank the volunteer coordinator was showing a new person around, explaining how to pack the bags and boxes by family size. I usually work on Mondays, which seems to be full of long-time volunteers, but Tuesdays are apparently quiet days with a late afternoon opening rather than at 1:00 pm. For most of the morning it was just me, the new person, and the VC, and when the VC went to Trader Joe's for a pick-up, the she said I was in charge.

Whoo hoo! I haven't been there that long and I was in charge! And supervising someone! Not that packing groceries is difficult... In the 40 minutes the VC was gone we received several phone calls, including a teacher who had received chocolate and/or coffee from all her students and wanted to know if we would take it (yes, we would) and a woman who wanted to know if she and her son could come in and work some hours for his service learning requirement (yes, they could). We also packed twelve boxes and ten bags, and restocked the tables for future packing.

Volunteering has given the most shape to the past year and I wish I had started at the food bank, my third "job," earlier in the year. I started about the time I was feeling the most useless, and not only am I obviously doing something but the work I do is appreciated by others - and those others are nicer than some people with whom I've worked for pay. For example, I have a very high squeamy tolerance, so sorting broken eggs is not a big deal for me, but the VC doesn't like the slime. Smiling at the families and elderly couples that come to the food bank makes me happy. All that talk about how serving others increases self-esteem? I find it to be true.

If you want to volunteer, but don't know where, pick something you like to do or feel strongly about, and go here. If you're looking for a specific kind of place to serve, like a food bank or senior center, go to www.local.com.