The New Albany Way Volunteering continues during pandemic By Brandon Klein
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Photos courtesy of “New Albany Food Pantry & New Albany High School Key Club
espite the COVID-19 pandemic, volunteering continues to be the norm in New Albany. Though charitable organizations have had to quickly adopt new guidelines in order to keep volunteers and clients safe during the pandemic, the community’s volunteers didn’t skip a beat while the needs evolved and, in many cases, grew. The New Albany Food Pantry, for instance, made many changes at the onset of the virus in mid-March 2020. It moved its base of operations from the New Albany-Plain Local School District buildings to the Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany and relied on its leadership team instead of its scores of registered volunteers, says Jennifer Wilcoxon, director of the food pantry. “Things obviously changed drastically,” she says. Volunteer opportunities reopened in June, allowing some volunteers back in the pantry, while others helped pick up food from donors such as large grocery store chains and coffee shops, where there was limited interaction with other people, says Rachel Jaffy, the pantry’s volunteer coordinator. Volunteers also stepped up to help out in key moments last year such as during the holidays. For Thanksgiving, 20 community members volunteered to deliver meals to families.
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