Published for the volunteers of Loaves & Fishes Community Pantry
VolunteerConnections
volunteer news and events
February 2014 Issue
NEWS AND EVENTS KIDS CARE 2
Volunteer Birthdays Rose Armbrust Renee Barron Mary Ann Budzynski Nancy Compton Shirley Haddock Barbara Hayhurst Thomas Kelly Alison Kincaide Linda Lyon Michael Markowicz Jenny Matthews Betsy Nardi Connor O’Brien Phillip Pecelunas Joe Pizzi James Raymond Margaret Reneker James Schouten Noreen Stauffer
2/1 2/5 2/19 2/17 2/6 2/25 2/28 2/26 2/10 2/10 2/6 2/14 2/14 2/7 2/6 2/9 2/25 2/12 2/20
Loaves & Fishes is now offering Kids Care2 opportunities for children (starting age 6) to get involved with our mission and help with a variety of activities! Approximately 45% of the people we serve are under the age of 18. And now we have an opportunity for local children to volunteer their time to our cause! When children set up a Kids Care2 volunteer activity, they will get a behind-the scenes tour of Loaves & Fishes. They will learn how we serve more than 2,500 local families every month. Some of the activities the children can assist with include building emergency food boxes, bundling diapers for babies, stocking shelves and packing healthy snack bags to be given out in the School Nutrition section. This is an ideal volunteer opportunity for groups of children such as scouts, teams and even birthday parties! For safety reasons, children must be at least 6 years old to participate. Children must be accompanied by an adult (one adult for every 4 children).
LOAVES & FISHES YOUNG PROFESSIONAL NETWORK Loaves & Fishes has started a newly formed network for young professionals called the Young Community Action Network (YCAN). Started by Advancement Coordinator Matt Chicola, this group is meant to engage a new demographic in the important work that Loaves & Fishes does. The goal of the group is to generate broader community awareness and grow our volunteer and donor community. If you know anyone who might be interested in becoming more involved with their community, please contact Matt Chicola or Hilary Nelson, and they would be happy to reach out to them. Or you can find them on facebook to receive up-to-date information about upcoming meetings and events!
SMART CHECK GETS SMARTER! Loaves & Fishes has made a commitment to provide better nutrition for our clients. Our Nutrition Advisory Council has recommended the Smart Check program as a way to help clients find healthy foods in the pantry. Foods that are higher in fiber and lower in sodium, sugar, and saturated fats are marked with the Smart Check shelf tag.
DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR? No, it’s not Christmas carols, it’s music throughout the building! A special thank you to Dave and Dawn Kelsch of Advanced Data Technologies for their generous donation of all labor and materials. We hope you enjoy the tunes!
DID YOU KNOW... A new face you will see around Loaves & Fishes is that of Caroline English, our new intern. Caroline started as a volunteer in November 2013 and accepted an internship position in January 2014. Caroline graduated from DePaul University in June 2013 with a Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management. She finds volunteer work very fulfilling and necessary to being a part of a community. She is excited to learn more about the ins and outs of nonprofits, especially volunteer programs. An avid runner, you can catch Caroline on the Prairie Patch (once the weather warms up of course!).
February 2014 • Featured Volunteers
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Loaves & Fishes is celebrating couples who volunteer together! With each newsletter, we feature several of our volunteers. If you or your family have been volunteering for longer than six months and would like to be featured on this page, please contact Hilary at volunteer@loaves-fishes.org.
John and Marlyn Steury
John and Marlyn Steury are coming up on their first year of volunteering with Loaves & Fishes. John volunteers 3 times a week (Greeter and Distribution) and Marlyn volunteers twice per week (Reception). John and Marlyn have been married almost 38 years and were college sweethearts at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. They met on a blind date in college, which was set up by someone whom Marlyn had previously dated! John is a former engineer at BP and Marlyn is a former Speech/Pathologist. Their most romantic memory is their engagement in the Sunken Garden of the Fu Dogs at Robert Allerton Park.
Jim and Patrice Lia
Jim and Parice Lia are very dedicated volunteer leaders who can be found at the pantry several days a week! They have been married for 45 years. They are also in charge of the new Kids Care2 program, which focuses on volunteer opportunities for children. A romantic night for Jim and Patrice is a quiet night at home. Jim is quite the chef, so he will prepare something special for Patrice. The Lias love volunteering because it is a way for them to spend time together. Jim traveled a lot for his career, so after retirement, he became involved at Loaves & Fishes. Patrice loves that they get to “share something together.” Patrice just celebrated her 4 year anniversary with Loaves & Fishes!
Frank and Nancy Lindberg
Frank and Nancy Lindberg can be found volunteering in Distribution every week. The Lindbergs have been married for 12 years. They have known each other since high school and both grew up in Naperville. In fact, Frank was a friend of Nancy’s brother, and he used to hang out at her house. Frank has been volunteering at Loaves & Fishes for about 6 months. Nancy has been volunteering at this facility for about a year and a half, but previously volunteered at the 5th Avenue location as well. Their most romantic memory is their honeymoon on a cruise through Canada.
HOT FUN ON A COLD NIGHT
Our first volunteer social for 2014 was a play at the Riverfront Playhouse in Aurora. Despite the snowy evening, 52 people ventured out for an evening of laughter and camaraderie. It was good to get out and laugh together. Please join us in April for our next group outing!