LEARNING THROUGH SERVICE

Volunteering Spring Semester 2012By Michael Radin

Where Can I Make a Difference ?Just for today,

I will make a difference; One hour at a time.

Looking to help make the world a better place. After all, isn't there enough angry words, violence, and unkindness in the world all ready?

Where is a place I can devote my time that has been established? Where is a place, where I can make change?Hey Mister, have you got a dollar? "No, but I can make change."

"Impacting Lives One Meal At A Time"Feeding The Hungry Since 1981 (31 Years)

Mission:

Provide individuals in need with food and other necessities to help them alleviate the burden of hunger and its consequences.

Two Locations

Head Quarters 6282 Olive Blvd

St.Louis MO 63130 314.726.5355

1435 Hoff Industrial Drive               O'Fallon, MO 63366 314.544.3500

Meet The Staff

The Executive Director, Sunny Schaefer

Sunny has pioneered in making a change in the bistate area for over three decades!

Staff Member

Gary Wells, General Manager.

Gary has worked at food banks for 14 years. He also participated in the campaign to get the Missouri sales tax on groceries reduced.

Gary fights on behalf of the poor, because they cannot do it alone.

Staff Member

Executive Assistant / Volunteer Coordinator

Steve has held this position since August 2011 and gives of his personal time as well and has worked with at least one other non-profit organization starting as a Volunteer.

Steve Baer

He schedules individual volunteers , volunteer groups from schools, corporations, and faith communities to come in to the distribution center and help package food for OFS's  member agencies and food pantries. He also assists with donation processing, fundraising, special event planning, data entry, preparing the newsletter, and grant proposals. He has also had to stop in the middle of his busy day just to go and get supplies (very rarely, usually, but stuff happens).

Staff Member

Nutrition Education Manager, Leslie Bertsch, a registered dietician who plays the role in not only getting enough food but making healthy food choices to make it last longer and give the body what it needs nutritionally.

Staff Member

Receptionist and Dispatcher, Bridget Brooks - Bridget is one who cannot help but make you smile and she is the first to greet you as you enter the building of Operation Food Search. Bridget has been with the OFS Team since the year 2000.

Staff Members

AmeriCorps National Direct- Cooking Matters, Brittany Crump

Staff Member

Agency Relations Coordinator, Julia Fuller, Julia assists Food Pantries and making sure they get everything they need from donations to distribution and safety measures of all food delivered.

Staff Member

Program Coordinator-Cooking Matters, Mariella Funk She educates on nutrition and sets up classes for groups among agencies so that those whom benefit from the pantries and what not learn to make healthy choices.

Staff Member

Community Relations Director - St. Charles Distribution Center, Denny Gladieu, Denny wanted to get involved with feeding people in the St. Louis area.  He joined Operation Food Search in 2004 as a volunteer and found a great place to serve.  However, an added benefit was meeting his wife Karen, who was working at OFS.

After moving to St. Charles County, Denny and Karen helped open a second distribution center for Operation Food Search in Wentzville.  Now in the third year of operation, Denny thanks God for all the many donors, supporters, and volunteers that have been involved.  Their efforts are helping to feed 24,000 people each month in St. Charles, Lincoln, and Warren County.

Staff Member

Community Outreach Director - St. Charles Distribution Center, Karen Gladieux,

Karen began volunteering with Operation Food Search in 2002 and jumped at the opportunity to become part of the OFS staff just a few months later.

Staff Member

Food Resources, Craig Goldford,

He arranges part of the food pickups and who will help sponsor as well as some of public relations and benefits as well as marketing consulting.

Staff Member

Finance Director, Tim Gruenenfelder performs the accounting, payroll, benefits administration, and records management duties at Operation Food Search. Tim has over 10 years of non-profit accounting experience. He finds his work to be rewarding, as it matches both his career objectives and his personal goal of helping others.

Staff Members

Program Coordinator- Cooking Matters, Kari Hartel

Staff Member

Director of Development, Karen Klaus

Special Event With David Freese Helping Out at OFS

Staff Member

Development Associate, Susan Sampson

Susan, from what I understand does the media and Facebook page for OFS.

Staff Member

Warehouse Manager, Bob Schunzel

Bob manages the warehouse and picks up the pallets of made by volunteers and loads them in to the trucks and organizes the warehouse and upkeep.

Services and Programs

Food Distribution- Currently OFS distributes two million pounds of food every month.

There are approximately 234 agencies in Missouri and Illinois that gets this food. Forty to eighty agencies come every morning of distribution, to get perishables, non perishables, perishables, personal care items, and other items as available.

Drivers For OFS

Randy Carthens Terry McKinney

OFS Truck And Loading Dock

The Pantries and Agencies

Each Partner /Pantry Operator/and Agency worker has to pass a Safe Food Serve Exam through a course offered by OFS

Where the donations of food and other items go?

83%Food Pantries 7% Meal Programs 6% Homeless

shelters/Transitional Housing Program

2% Rehab programs 2% Senior programs

Food Distribution Volunteers and workers loading a truck to help homeless, home bound, low income, all ages, and back grounds of people

Hunger Hotline

Available 24/7 314-726-5355

Follow the instructions and you will be given the name and phone number of an agency in your neighborhood (as OFS does not distribute food to individuals in need rather they supply the agencies with the food and needed items).

Why Employees, If Its a Non-Profit Organization? The employees either have some

degree in their back ground even if its not related to their job.

The employees in many regards have the education and can help educate others.

The Employees for the general perspective are educated in the fields they are working.

Operation Backpack

Hunger doesn't take a break on the weekend...

85% of children in St Louis Public Schools rely on free or reduced cost meal programs

Often these children go home on the weekends to little or no food at home.

2011-2012 nearly 60,000 Backpacks will go out to the children in St Louis this was first started in 2008.

The Backpack Program

This also an extension of the nutritionists and cooking matters - teach the children how to prepare easy meals from the food in their backpack.

This program is so important; in fact many children are known to be latch key kids and the food is not in the household to put on the table at meal times. Parents are working, trying to find work, or trying to find ways to provide for their families through other means.

Nutrition Education• Cooking Matters:  Ground-

breaking nutrition education and cooking classes designed to teach people hands-on meal preparation, practical nutrition information, and food budgeting skills.

• Health Fairs:  Provide pamphlets, handouts, and general nutrition information to health fair participants.

• Nutrition Presentations:  Provide presentations on a variety of popular nutrition topics.  For example, how to follow a healthy diabetic diet, or how to get your picky eater to eat their fruits and vegetables.

• Cooking Demonstrations:  Teach participants how to prepare a nutritious recipe (or two).  Free samples are of course provided!

• Hunger 101:  Teaches participants about issues and barriers faced by those experiencing food insecurity and hunger.

Cooking Matters

The experts and volunteers both help educate the people they help in learning how to prepare food healthy, cost-cutting and delicious.

As you have seen by other pictures, the staff gets involved in special events and making floats to be supportive and help in other fund raising events.

This is where grants and and many donations also come in to help support the classes and necessary materials needed.

The Volunteer Work I Did

I worked on jewelry donated to OFS for the most part and stayed extra hours many days. I really enjoyed it as tedious work it might seem.

The Jewelry went into Backpacks on Valentines Day for guardians as well as for Mother's Day  also.

More of  The Jewelry

Ribbons and Plastic Bags I cut the ribbon and filled the plastic bags and tied a knot around the plastic bag

These are what the bags looked like and we filled boxes and tubs full of these more than 4,000 bags full of these

Yes, More Jewelry!

Bracelets, Earrings, and Rings

Necklaces & Broaches

Food Distribution to People and Other Household  Items

In-Kind Donors Percentages

2% Food Drives 4% Miscellaneous 4% Bakeries  5% Personal Care

Items & Coats 9% Non-Profit

Providers

In-Kind Donors Percentages

14% Restaurants, Hospitality, Industry, Caterers & Sports Venues

14% Food Manufacturers & Distributors

48% Grocery Industry

Things To Keep In Mind

My second day at OFS I stuffed envelopes to get out tax letters to different donors obviously this couldnt be finished in 3 hours so I stayed until the job was done.

I also worked in the ware house a day or two marking out bar codes filling non-perishables in boxes.

Many times the ones lifting these boxes are elderly you really want to make light weight box for these as it is hard for them to lift and carry with no help.

It's So Important

To be open minded. To be willing to give of your time and ability To see the job get done To remember your limits and time constraints To be respectful of everyone To be on time To call if an emergency arises To not just be there for a grade or feel you

have to rather, you want to be, because you're making change, even if you cannot give a dollar.

What I Loved About OFS

I loved the common respect and that I mattered because I was helping make a difference while being educated at the same time.

I also got the chance to talk with people I knew and tried to set up some help for those in need through OFS who also had non-profit status.

Everyone was friendly. Everyone cared and everyone was making a

difference I got to see my personal beliefs at work within

people which is the way I choose to view the World everyone being a helping hand of something greater than man to meet the needs of everyone in need.

What It Takes?

It takes more than just you or I It takes all of the donors and their donations It takes all of the volunteers It takes all of the staff It takes all the cheerfulness you can muster It takes some elbow grease It takes all of the special events and fund

raisers It takes all of these things working together

to help put an end to hunger.

Thank You For Viewing

This opportunity has meant the world to me

All Pictures and Resources are not copyrighted they are used with permission.

Sources used are pamphlets, interviews, and my experience with Operation Food Search.

I hope you too will choose to go out and do good work and succeed.