I’m surrounded by Marys—literally! We have so many volunteers named Mary at Hope House that it gets confusing trying to keep track of them. What they all have in common is a wonderful dedication to serving those in need, and in this they share with all the non-Mary volunteers. We have the most wonderful volunteers ever! Let me share:
· “Little” Mary and Mary-Lou both take pride in “culling” the racks each week to keep the clothing choices up to date. They remove items that have been hanging there for quite a while, they check for missed stains and buttons and just generally keep our racks manageable.
· Mary W. loves to show new clients around and help them find everything they need. She has also cross-trained for several jobs at Hope House, so she is valuable everywhere!
· Mary S. spends hours filing records for us and is eagerly awaiting our new computers so she can do some data entry.
· Mary J. and Mary S. (a different one) both are hard-working sorters and hygiene distributors in our kitchen area.
·“Young” Mary is a college student who never fails to show up when she is home from school to lend a hand—often doing all the running up and down the stairs for us!
· Kathleen works quietly at Hope House in the afternoons and on weekends when we are not open. She is a master organizer with wonderful vision, and helps us keep things working efficiently.
· Ellen has been with us since the start of Hope House and has kept the infant/toddler clothing under control for years. She also works with Kathleen on keeping the upstairs storage under control.
· Don, John, Dick, Ricardo, Bill, Pug and Dianne are our “air traffic controllers”—they work the front desk, keeping track of who is coming and who is going, checking people out, answering questions, keeping the coffee and cookies replenished and just generally being the center of our daily life!
· Then there are the “shed pixies”, Ray and Jeanne, who keep our food bags packed, our donation bin emptied and just keep the storage shed organized—love them!
· Bonnie, Tim, Chuck, Ann, Jan, Judy and Carole have special jobs listening to those in need of financial assistance and discerning who and how they can help. God bless them for this ministry!
· Lynnette, Carole, Shirley, Ann, Chris, Sarah, Becky, Chuck, Maura, Evelyn, Kathy, Caroline, Keegan, Liz and more that I have probably forgot to name, all work very, very hard in our kitchen area, sorting donations, handing out food, hygiene and diapers to a never ending stream of clients. We couldn’t do it without them!
· Pat and Judy help with intake, as well as Becky, Mary S. and Bill. This is the position that takes time and sensitivity and it is not for everybody, but these volunteers make it look easy.
· Paul stops by Hope House a couple mornings a week to vacuum and empty the garbage for us. I can’t tell you how much it means to come in to a clean work area!
· The Street Outreach team—a unique and totally focused group of wonderful volunteers who go out in the dark and cold to bring food to the homeless where they live; Theresa, Bonnie, Sharon, Roland, Christine and Phil—you rock!
Speaking of the Street Outreach team—their backup crews who make lunches each week make it possible, both the team at Assumption and the wonderful Sandwich Brigade at St. Paul’s. Wonderful, wonderful people—each one.
Here are a few examples of how these volunteers make things nicer at Hope House:
· I come around the corner past a window where we often hang clothing. In the window I see adorable coordinated outfits; complete with tastefully arranged scarves, all in green (St. Patrick’s Day is coming). Someone has made sure we look like a store for our clients.
· I discover packages of cookies stored at the front desk—because “it sometimes takes too long to go back to the kitchen when people are hungry”. Enough said.
· Even with lines of people waiting, I cannot convince the kitchen crew that they don’t have to give people an option of what fragrance of shampoo they want—they like to make sure the clients get to choose.
· The lunch packing crews for the Street Outreach are uncompromising in their dedication to a quality lunch—they make what they would serve to Christ—fresh meat and cheese sandwiches, homemade cookies and fresh fruit!
I wouldn’t trade any of them for anything! I love them all.
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