FareShare South West’s Post

📢 Volunteer with Us & Make a Difference! 🍞🥫 Looking for ways to give back to the community? Whether you’re looking to help out for a few hours or need to complete community service hours, we’ve got the perfect opportunity for you! We’re Looking for Volunteers to Help with: • Food Sorting & Organizing – Help us organize donations and keep our pantry running smoothly. • Food Distribution – Assist clients in selecting food or help with our curbside pickup events. Need Community Service Hours? If you need to fulfill community service requirements for school or other obligations, we’re happy to help! Volunteers completing community service hours can assist in all roles and receive documentation of hours worked. Why Volunteer with Us? • Make a direct impact in your community. • Flexible hours that work around your schedule. • Work with a dedicated team to fight food insecurity. • Great opportunity for students or anyone looking to give back. Please contact us at Info@resourcesandbeyond.org

#ReflectionsOfAVolunteer Are we counting ALL our volunteering hours 🤔 The past couple weeks I've been sat at my laptop way past logging off time, but it isn't because I've been burning the midnight oil for my day job. I've been preparing to volunteer. We log "frontline volunteering" hours, when our volunteers are out there on the ground but what about all the time and effort that goes into getting to that stage. In your volunteering reports are you counting ·       Training hours ·       Travel-time ·       Board meetings ·       Sub-team meetings ·       Admin that volunteers are taking home ·       Session plans that they may be creating as volunteer trainers ·       Even onboarding, the time it takes to research and apply for a role. If we started counting all the minutes our volunteers put into just preparing to volunteer then I think we’d probably double their hours and fully represent the value of those who choose to donate their time to make a difference Now let me get back to that summer-camp admin! #volunteering #charitysector #charityleaders

📢 Volunteer with Us & Make a Difference! 🍞🥫 Looking for ways to give back to the community? Whether you’re looking to help out for a few hours or need to complete community service hours, we’ve got the perfect opportunity for you! We’re Looking for Volunteers to Help with: • Food Sorting & Organizing – Help us organize donations and keep our pantry running smoothly. • Food Distribution – Assist clients in selecting food or help with our curbside pickup events. Need Community Service Hours? If you need to fulfill community service requirements for school or other obligations, we’re happy to help! Volunteers completing community service hours can assist in all roles and receive documentation of hours worked. Why Volunteer with Us? • Make a direct impact in your community. • Flexible hours that work around your schedule. • Work with a dedicated team to fight food insecurity. • Great opportunity for students or anyone looking to give back. Please contact us at Info@resourcesandbeyond.org (414)795-8772

📢 Volunteer with Us & Make a Difference! 🍞🥫 Looking for ways to give back to the community? Whether you’re looking to help out for a few hours or need to complete community service hours, we’ve got the perfect opportunity for you! We’re Looking for Volunteers to Help with: • Food Sorting & Organizing – Help us organize donations and keep our pantry running smoothly. • Food Distribution – Assist clients in selecting food or help with our curbside pickup events. Need Community Service Hours? If you need to fulfill community service requirements for school or other obligations, we’re happy to help! Volunteers completing community service hours can assist in all roles and receive documentation of hours worked. Why Volunteer with Us? • Make a direct impact in your community. • Flexible hours that work around your schedule. • Work with a dedicated team to fight food insecurity. • Great opportunity for students or anyone looking to give back.

Are you at your wits end trying to find and maintain a quality volunteer base? Us, too. In the year-and-a-half that we've been running this organization, we have had our ups and downs, much like you have. We've had people enthusiastically show up to fill a position, then vanish like the first snow. Rude. Other times, we know people suddenly have more on their plate and have to give up volunteering because of other priorities. Fair. And sometimes, people realize getting to a volunteering location is awkward with a lack of transportation to the site. Understandable. Especially for our under-16 crowd with no drivers licenses or car access. At the same time, we have been astounded at the quality and sophisticated level of volunteers that have stepped up to fill opportunities that seemed like pipe dreams. Strategic planners, board of directors members, organizational secretaries, treasurers, and so many more positions that require very specific skill sets. In fact, most of the 1525+ volunteers in our pool have very excellent qualifications. Before you @ us, every volunteer is precious to us, not just those with university degrees. We also treasure those who are sorting donations, pouring coffee, cleaning cages, or driving cars to get people to appointments. Do not underestimate your importance! For more on this topic, we have a blog from Lois about our shared pains and joys in getting the right people for the right jobs. See how we can help you! https://buff.ly/4ggzzAA #VolunteerEngagement #CommunityBuilding #VolunteersNeeded #VolunteersRock #NonprofitLife

This year, our Emergency Pantry’s impact grew by almost 1000%. But if we're being honest, on a daily basis, we don't really think about statistics. Of course, statistics are important and we track how we're making an impact, the pounds of food we divert from landfills and back into the community, and more! But...everyday, we aren’t thinking about end of year statistics and how much we’ve grown. We’re thinking about the person standing in front of us doing one of the hardest things in the world: asking for help. Our team has been on the other side of many non-profit doors. We’ve been handed a bag of cans. We’ve walked through a pantry with no one there to answer a question or answer the question in our primary language. We make it our mission to be different from these spaces. On a daily basis, we're thinking about learning what products people prefer and seeking it out from our Food Rescue Partners. We're helping someone fill out a job application or teaching a father how to braid his daughter’s hair. It’s an honor to know that thousands of people trust us with their family’s care every single week. We don’t take this fact lightly. So even as we track things everyday, we aren't really thinking about the numbers. All we are thinking is that this is about more than just food. This is a community. 🥖🌹🫶 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eNcu7DsM

This International Volunteers Day, I’m proud to share a new initiative at Norac Foods UK: paid time off for volunteering. Work-life balance means more than just time for work and rest—it’s about making space for what matters. This policy empowers our team to support causes they care about while we find new ways to balance business needs with personal passions. Together, we can create positive change—at work and in our communities. #InternationalVolunteersDay #WorkLifeBalance #GivingBack

 https://lnkd.in/g4HrRByv "A world where volunteers aren’t relied on for essential services is one where volunteers still hold an essential role. Volunteering is an access point to building empathy and understanding across communities. Volunteering can be an access point to self-actualization, to meaning, to health, and to community-making. And now is the best time to start on a path toward decent volunteering for all". So much to break down in this article.

Volunteering at the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless’s Sort & Pack event was nothing short of epic! Seriously, seeing everyone—from kids to grandparents—come together to support one cause was just fantastic. I mean, who knew packing backpacks could be so motivational? Helping a community like LICH keeps me going; I could tell everyone else felt the same energy.   Now, let’s talk about the heat. I haven’t sweat that much since…well, ever. It was like Mother Nature decided to throw in a free sauna session! But honestly, it was all worth it. The thought of someone out there smiling because of the backpack I packed? Priceless. I can’t wait to do it again at the next event—hopefully, it’ll be a bit cooler!   Also, a big shoutout to our Jovia Financial Credit Union team members, who, internally throughout the organization, helped collect over 1,300 individual school supplies and to everyone who came out to help sort & pack those supplies. There’s a reason they say there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’—it takes all of us together to make a significant impact, and we did a great job together. #CommunityEngagement #VolunteerExperience #NonprofitSupport #HomelessnessAwareness #Teamwork #CorporateSocialResponsibility #JoviaFinancial #LeadershipInAction #MakingADifference #SocialImpact #EmployeeVolunteering #GivingBack #CommunityOutreach

What a great way to end the year! I took some time out of work this morning with my kids to visit our local food bank. As a parent, I’ve always wanted to give my children the things I didn’t have growing up, but I’ll admit it has made them a little spoilt. Taking them to the food bank was a way to help them understand the value of what we often take for granted and the importance of giving back. While there, I was shocked to hear that this month saw the highest number of people needing food support in 12 years! Just last Saturday, 77 children and 144 adults came seeking help. It’s heartbreaking to know so many families are struggling, especially during what should be a joyful season. Learning about the cost of food Part of the morning session was guessing the cost of essential items. My kids were amazed to learn how expensive everyday items are, and I was shocked myself – who knew corned beef (£3.50) could cost so much? It also made us more mindful about wasting food at home – whether it’s pouring too much cereal into a bowl or not finishing meals, we’ve realised how important it is to appreciate and use what we have wisely. The food bank offers more than food I didn’t realise how much more support the food bank provides beyond food. From Citizens Advice to digital skills and IT training, as well as help with employment, housing, legal issues, and finances – it’s a lifeline for so many people in need. A family tradition to give back My kids got to make Christmas cards for food parcels, a simple but meaningful way for them to understand the importance of thinking about others. This experience has been a reminder for us as a family to find small but thoughtful ways to give back, not just at Christmas but throughout the year. It’s something we’ll be doing together more regularly. How you can help If you’re able, I encourage you to consider supporting a charity close to your heart, whether it’s a food bank, or any organisation helping those in need. The money you save by skipping a few takeaway coffees or bringing in a packed lunch for a week could go a long way in helping others. #foodbank#supportingcharities