I can’t believe we are at the end of the third week of this Fellowship!  Time flies!  I have to say the highlight of this week was looking at the results of my volunteer survey.  In this busy world, I really was not sure what kind of responses I would get.  I know when I am asked to take a survey, I generally put it off for as long as possible because I just have so many other things to do.  Now that I am on the other end, I really appreciate the time the Food Pantry’s volunteers put into their answers.  While only 20% of our volunteers actually took the survey, those that did provided simply wonderful insight.

The purpose of the survey was twofold: first, to find out environmental concerns of the pantry from the volunteer’s point of view; and second, to gauge how appreciated they felt as a volunteer, and what the Food Pantry could do to better show their appreciation.  There are many days where there is more work to be done than volunteers available, so the Food Pantry Board was very interested to hear how the volunteers felt about their time spent here.

I was slightly worried when I first opened the survey results.  What if the volunteers are angry?  What if they don’t like what the Pantry can offer them?  I surely did not want to be the bearer of bad news.  As usual, my worries were for naught.  While I really did not know what the volunteers would say, I absolutely did not expect the immense satisfaction and gratitude the volunteers had for the work they do.  I realized their views reflect my own about volunteering, and that I should have known the responses before they even came in.

One volunteer wrote, “I don’t volunteer to be appreciated.  I volunteer because I believe in the mission.  That is what satisfies me”

Another explained, “I know in my heart I am doing good work.  I don’t need to be rewarded for that.”

Many went on to explain similar feelings.  Knowing that they are needed and being able to help.  The understanding that getting food to the hungry is the ultimate goal – not any form of public recognition.

Part of my Fellowship experience is making the Food Pantry more volunteer friendly.  This week, part of my job description changed.  Previously, I was brainstorming all of the different ways we could let the volunteers know they are appreciated – raffles, volunteer of the month, newsletter recognition, etc.  While we may still do these things, the job has evolved.  Many of the volunteers requested more training so they would be better able to help our neighbors in need.  And not just Food Pantry training – also gaining knowledge about outside community resources, so they would be ready to assist those that needed more than groceries to get by.

There are many ugly things in this world, and many beautiful things.  This is beautiful.  I had asked what the Food Pantry could do for its volunteers, and inadvertently the volunteers responded with asking what more they could do for their community.  THIS is what our nonprofits are about.  We don’t do it for the recognition.  We do it because we love our communities and our neighbors.

With love,

Liz