With a name like that, you know she packs one “powerful” meal prep punch! Her achievement of nearly 1,000 hours of service in 5 short years is one remarkable accomplishment to say the least. Once you learn a little bit more about this wondrous woman, you will understand why her recognition is long overdue.
It was a cold winter’s day in February 2015, when we had so much “hope” that our volunteer orientation would be one for the record books. (Ok, so let’s just stop for a minute and all recognize that the puns for Hope are just a little too easy and are going to make this article super fun to create. I’m sure she’s not used to this at all.) Little did we know just how impactful the service from one of those new volunteers would become over the next several years. She has the art of pan prepping down to a science and her ability to lead a team of one-time volunteers through the volunteer experience of a lifetime is something we wish we could bottle up and release every time she’s not around. Not only does she prep hundreds of meals each shift and occasionally lead one-time volunteer groups, she also frequently brings her lovely daughters to assist, too! Her family has an annual tradition of volunteering together at Second Helpings around the holidays. Oh, and if we’re real lucky, her husband’s employer, Applied Engineering, will bring a team of fantastic folks every now and then to flex their chopping muscles in our Hunger Relief kitchen for a few hours.
Hope says, “I have a real sense of accomplishment when I get to the end of my shift and can physically see all of the pans of food that I have helped produce for our partner agencies. I feel proud knowing that I have helped provide meals for children and adults that might not otherwise know where their next meal is coming from. Also, I love the group of friends that I have made over the past five years on Thursday mornings!”
Now that her two daughters are out of high school, she enjoys having fewer commitments, but the one weekly commitment she just can’t get enough of is her Thursday morning volunteer shift at Second Helpings! In addition to her weekly volunteer schedule, she also works part time at a candy store. Can you even imagine how much will “power” it must take to be around such tasty treats, not only here at Second Helpings, but also during your paid gig each week?! She’s one dedicated lady!
She says we might be surprised to know that she has a degree in Urban Planning, however, if you’ve ever seen her build a pan of food you wouldn’t be surprised at all. Not only are the meals perfectly portioned and well thought out, they always look beautiful, too! Don’t ever use too many beige food items. Some of us might’ve learned that from Hope the hard way!
So, to sum it all up, we are “hopeful” to have MANY more meals made by Hope! She is truly one bright spirit that shines her light on us each week and we thank our lucky stars that she chose to become part of our volunteer family. Hope, thank you making such an incredible impact on our entire community! We love you!