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