We are consistently humbled and amazed by the diverse group of volunteers who so generously give of their time, talent and energy in support of Second Helpings’ mission to transform lives through the power of food.
Recently, we were visited by Chad Yanen, a 29 year-old who is using a cross-country roadtrip as an opportunity to raise awareness for the National Alliance to End Homelessness. While traveling from his native West Virginia to his current residence of Girdwood, Alaska, Yanen is volunteering at homeless shelters and hunger relief organizations in each city he visits.
Yanen chose Second Helpings as the place to serve when passing through Indianapolis, just the second stop on his cross-country trip. He was impressed by the work taking place here.
“I thought it was amazing,” Yanen said of Second Helpings. “Compared to the soup kitchen in Wheeling. People deliver food there, but there’s no real system to take it in. While we were cooking food, they had us bringing in boxes and trying to get everything organized. Their coolers were very small. I felt like they needed a lot of help… there people came in and ate, after we were done cooking. Here, you actually send it off, but that’s even better because that frees up the time for everybody else volunteering at those locations.”
Yanen hopes his trip will help others recognize the opportunities to give back in their respective communities. “Being able to volunteer is a great thing,” Yanen said. “The people you get to work with are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. They’re not here being all snooty saying, ‘Oh, I volunteer.’ They’re here because they care about their community.”
Growing up in a small town in West Virginia, Yanen says he was largely unaware of the issue of homelessness that plagues larger cities. It wasn’t until he began traveling the world that his eyes were opened. “Ever since I left West Virginia and I moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, homelessness was pretty bad there,” Yanen says. “That’s when I first started seeing it as a real issue. Then, as I moved up in Alaska, I saw there were more opportunities for people to stay in shelters and find help, because of how cold it gets up there. So, that gave me the thought that I would like to change this.”
You can follow Yanen’s journey on Instagram, and connect with his fundraiser for National Alliance to End Homelessness. Are you interested in serving at Second Helpings and joining the fight against hunger in Central Indiana? Check out our volunteer opportunities for more information.