Volunteer Perspective: Kathy Pataluch

Submitted May 18, 2011 by Ben Shine | 2 comments

I discovered Second Helpings about five years ago when I received a random mailing that explained their three core programs: Hunger Relief, Food Rescue and Culinary Job Training. I learned how three local chefs set out to solve real-life issues of food waste and the lack of skilled labor in the local food service industry. And, of course, there were homeless, hungry people living in Indianapolis every day. The numbers were staggering and something clicked in me that said, "I need to do something about this." I started out being a very small donor for two years and then decided I needed to do more. In 2008, I became one of over 400 volunteers who help in the production kitchen to provide the nearly 3,000 daily meals to those in need. And my passion for this organization and the incredible work it does in this community has grown ever since.

In addition to volunteering on Saturdays, I’m co-chair of the Logistics Committee for Harvest, SH’s biggest fundraiser; I organized a pasta and rice drive through my place of employment which produced 82 lbs. of food, and I recently joined the Development and Marketing Committee.

I wanted to share my enthusiasm for this organization with friends and co-workers, and fortunately, the staff at Second Helpings has a brilliant idea for doing such a thing. They’re called Community Awareness Receptions -- so I hosted one in April! I invited about a dozen close friends to learn about this amazing organization. It took a little over an hour, and my friends had lovely hors d’oeuvres prepared by the Director of Hunger Relief program, Liz Gimenez, then, they went on a tour and heard from Chef Sam Brown about the Culinary Training program, and Joe Hoog about the Food Rescue program.

My friends were very impressed, they had fun and I couldn’t have been more proud to bring the two groups together. There are so many ways for the public to get involved with Second Helpings – financially, volunteering, organizing a pasta drive, or just telling others about the great work that the staff and volunteers do to help the Indianapolis community. I would encourage anyone to host a Community Awareness Reception to help spread the word. I’m grateful to the entire staff of Second Helpings for giving their time that evening, as well as their passion and commitment to the jobs they do. They each make such a difference!

Sincerely,
Kathy Pataluch
 

Comments

David Kelly
May 18th, 2011 2:06pm
Kathy,rnrnAgain - We've agreed on many things over the years we've known eachother. Second Helpings now makes another thing we agree on. I love this place and their missions.
Eric
May 18th, 2011 1:51pm
It was a fun way to end the day. Thank you for the invitation Kathy.

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