Today marks the first request for food made to St. Raphael Catholic Church, answered by what would soon become Loaves & Fishes. As the demand for our services grew, the outpouring of community support was inspiring. As we reach our 30th year anniversary (which will kick off at Day Without Hunger), Loaves & Fishes is pleased to share new opportunities for those looking to get involved with Loaves & Fishes!
Being a fully functioning warehouse, Loaves & Fishes has been dedicated to ensuring a safe environment for our volunteers, which meant that children could not volunteer during regular volunteer hours. Since so many families are interested in volunteering as a group, this became problematic, especially because we know how important it is for children to understand our community needs and how they can make a difference in the lives of others, even at a young age. Our team continued brainstorming, and thanks to the leadership of Patrice and Jim Lia, Kids Care2 was launched to provide family volunteering opportunities as well as special Loaves & Fishes’ birthday parties. We are so excited to share our mission with local kids!
While we continue to expand our opportunities for our youngest community members, Loaves & Fishes has also introduced the Young Community Action Network (YCAN) to engage young adults. So many individuals are interested in getting involved with our mission; however, due to their busy professional life, they are unable to make time to volunteer and feel like a part of the Loaves & Fishes family. YCAN combines elements of a networking group and social club with the goal of raising awareness for a good cause. For more information, email Matt Chicola, Advancement Coordinator, at mchicola@loaves-fishes.org.
As for our current and future volunteers, Loaves & Fishes is taking the next step in our evolution to provide the highest quality service: volunteer training videos. By creating these modules, we can ensure our volunteers receive the same training for new tasks that may be unfamiliar to them. Moreover, this benefits our clients because they will have a consistent, positive experience each time they visit.
We are honored to share these developments with you in hopes that you will join our team, or if you are already on our team, we hope you will invite someone else who was unable to join before! Be a part of it today!