First Day at Feeding America!

Okay, so our first day was a little rough. I totally anticipated that. The first few times doing anything is always a bit rough. We'll get into though. 

So the morning started off with me being TOTALLY SICK. But, I wanted to at least be there to get the guy I had been working with to coordinate us introduced to all the people that came to help out. But, we had a small turn out of mothers and the guy that I was working with was on vacation! Since he was on vacation they forgot to put our children on the list of volunteers. At first they told me they forgot to put us on there all together when I told them we were "Mothers for Service." But then, after about a half hour of trying to figure things out, he says, "Wait. Are you guys the same as "Mom's for Service?" You're killin' me smalls! So then I overheard him talking to someone else saying, "The babies are comin' with the old people." I was sitting in the waiting room by myself just busting up. This guy was great.

So we finally got things worked out and Katie and Jennifer arrived. We watched a short video on what is acceptable and what isn't for non perishables. After the video we got a nice pep talk from the same guy who was calling us "old people." His pep started off very energetic and positive. He was reminding us that we are "Soldiers for the Lords" and that so long as we are in Feeding America we are on the Lord's errand. His speech was slightly less than focussed. He switched from being "soldiers of the Lord" to talking about the prodigal son and how there are only bad choices and not bad people. What that has to do with non-perishable food items, I don't know. . . However, he may have been trying to get a point across that we are all the same in the Food Bank no matter what choices we've made. . . maybe. . . But then he started talking about how the best thing we can do for ourselves is to be ourselves. Then he got to be a little too much for me and started yelling and saying, "I KNOW you think I'm crazAY, but I- Don't- Caaaayahhhh (care)!" Then he calmed down and got back on topic telling us that stuff that we will work with in our morning shift will be in the hands of a family in need. After that I think he was trying to put things in perspective, but he kept saying stuff like, "I'm just happy to have an egg biscuit in the morning!" 

Then we got a call saying we had to come back because one of the children was upset. And since Jennifer and Katie came together, and I was sick, we all had to leave. Note: carpooling might not be ideal for this. 

So our first day wasn't the best, but at least a few of us have the video under our belts so we can get started right away for the next time!

I am so excited about this and know that it will be successful and we will succeed in helping our community! The first few times may be a bit rough, but as we work it into our schedules I think things can only get better and better from here.

I am looking forward to our activity next week!. More in the next post.

Please feel free to invite ANYONE you want. Remember: just because our name is "Mother's for Service" we do not exclude those who aren't mothers. We welcome anyone who has a desire to serve!

Thank you all for your participation. 

First Volunteer Day at S.W. Virginia Food Bank

Our first day of service will be October 6 at 9am. We are still coordinating babysitting.

I met with the volunteer coordinator today. He said we are good to go for October 6th at 9 am. We will watch a 14 minute video on what to look for (damaged goods) and then sort through the goods. He said age 7+ can come! They have a project for the younger kids (7+) that involves putting family portion sized pasta into packages. The children can only come if the parent is also there. The parent does not also have to be portioning pasta. There is a seperate coordinator for the kids that will instruct them and be helping them out. We will all be in the same place though. I think it is all in the same room. 

We will have a tour of the building and then watch our video and then get to work. He asked if we could do three hours. I said I'd check, but probably not the ones with babies. He said ideal is 9 am to noon, but if we have lots of people 9 am to 11 am would be okay. 

Humanitarian Project

Our humanitarian Projects will be held the THIRD WEDNESDAY of every month from 10 am -12pm.

They will be held in the home of a group member.

The group members are responsible for organizing the project, but NOT for purchasing the materials.

You can read more details in the "Welcome" section of the blog (first post).

There is a list of humanitarian project ideas in the right column of the home page of this blog.

Our FIRST project will be held on WEDNESDAY September 15th at 10 am to Noon at Audrey Bartlett's home. We will be crocheting and knitting booties and caps. We will also be making scrap fabric booties so bring scrap material, yarn, elastic, crochet/knitting needles and a sewing machine if you are able and if you have materials to spare. Please do not purchase any items. Between us all we should have plenty of materials. I think the only thing we might not have a lot of is the elastic, so if anyone happens to have a lot 1/4 inch elastic that they could spare that would be a great contribution to the project. Also if you have those circular looms for caps bring those. I think the children could be taught to use the looms. 

Children are welcome to participate in this activity. 

Please contact me with questions or for details. 

Thank you all!

Melissa

Mothers for Service group leader and coordinator.

Service Project

Our service project is 

S.W. Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank

1025 Electric Road

Salem, VA 24153

phone: (540) 342-3011

www.swvafoodbank.org

Harry Van Guilder is the Director of Volunteer Services and his ex. is 42.

We will be serving here on the FIRST WEDNESDAY of every month from 9 am-11am.

This food bank serves 26 counties and 10 cities in Southwest Virginia. Last year 66,561 children in Southwest Virginia received emergency food assistance from this food bank. This food bank provides food for the ill, elderly, disadvantaged, children, working poor families and those affected by natural disaster.

We look forward to serving here!

 

Welcome

Welcome to "Mothers for Service."

We had our first meeting yesterday and it was very successful. We decided the following:

Service Project:

• The service project will take place the FIRST Wednesday of every month from 9 am-11am.
• The service will be at the S.W. Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank located at 1025 Electric Road, Salem, VA 24153, phone: 342-3011.

Humanitarian Project:

• The humanitarian projects will take place on the THIRD Wednesday of every month from 10 am-12pm.
• The project will be held in the home of a member of the group.
• Members of the group will alternate hosting projects.
• Children are welcome to participate in the humanitarian projects.
• It is the responsibility of the host to plan the project, but NOT to supply the materials necessary for the project.
• Project ideas include: helping meet needs of disabled or temporarily disabled members of our wards, make meals for sick or families with newborns, clean a park or other public area, tie quilts, letters/pictures for missionaries or soldiers or classes on preparedness, food storage, organization, budgeting and other skills that will help us improve our own lives and those of our families. These were just a few ideas. We are not limited to these.

Babysitting:

• The service project has asked for a minimum of 2 hours of volunteer time. Including travel time, babysitting should be limited to 2 and a half hours.
• Babysitting will take place from 8:45 am- 11:15 am.
• Babysitting is only provided for those attending the service project.
• Parents are responsible for providing their child's diaper and snack needs.
• 1 adult for every 5 children, but at least 2 adults present during the babysitting hours.
• DO NOT bring your child to babysitting if they are ill. This includes runny nose, cough, fever, etc. 
• Emergency contact numbers will be provided for each member of the group.

As this is NOT a Relief Society group I will not be announcing it in church; however, our desire is to increase our numbers. You may invite people privately and we plan to include a flier about our group on the Relief Society message board. The more the merrier!

Although we are called "Mothers for Service" this group is not limited to mothers. We accept all willing hands! 

Thank you for your interest and support and please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding the group or suggestions for humanitarian projects. 

Melissa

Mothers for Service group leader and coordinator