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Date: 11/20/2018
GREATER SPRINGFIELD – During holidays such as Thanksgiving and every day, volunteering time to those in need and making sure every family has the ability to eat is important. The holidays are about giving back to the community. Rachel’s Table, which has worked to feed Western Massachusetts since 1992, is currently seeking volunteers interested in helping collect and drop off donations for the organization as well as dispatchers.
Rachel’s Table is looking for volunteer drivers and dispatchers who would be available for at least one morning shift each month. The volunteer schedule is flexible, allowing for volunteers to schedule shifts as frequently as they would like. Breaks in volunteering are also welcome for those who may not want to participate during winter or summer, for example.
Rachel’s Table works six days a week with a team of over 200 volunteers in order to collect food from locations such as grocery stores, restaurants and bakeries. The food is then delivered to over 40 agencies including soup kitchens and shelters. Rachel’s Table currently serves agencies in cities and towns including Springfield, Longmeadow, West Springfield, Feeding Hills, Chicopee, Holyoke and Indian Orchard.
Sarah Maniaci, Assistant Director of Rachel’s Table, said there is not only a need for volunteers during the holidays, but year-round. “It’s a combination of needing more volunteers for the holidays and all year. The amount of hunger in this area never subsides. Having more volunteers will allow us to serve more people.”
Individual or team volunteers are welcome to donate their time to the cause. The schedule does not adhere to just weekdays and Sunday morning shifts are available.
Maniaci explained that the training is simple. “We focus training on subjects such as food safety so that food can be transported safely to different agencies. All training takes about an hour.”Volunteers will watch a brief Powerpoint slideshow on the basics of driving or dispatching for Rachel’s Table. Information in the presentation includes food safety and how to call out to agencies to find where food is needed.
Drivers will be responsible for picking up food from donors and for delivering them to the agencies the dispatcher sets up. Strength is not a requirement to volunteer, as agencies are available to load/unload vehicles. Dispatchers will make phone calls from their homes to set up donated food to delivery volunteers.
Rachel’s Table is not seeking a set number of volunteers and welcomes everyone who is willing to help. Maniaci shared, “We need as many as possible. We can increase our donors and increase the number of people we can feed if we have more volunteers.”
Maniaci is proud to be a part of Rachel’s Table, and feels that volunteers will feel the same. “We have been in the area for over 25 years, and we have a long history of helping alleviate hunger in the area. We are very well established.”
Two training opportunities will be offered at the Springfield Jewish Community Center in Longmeadow on Dec. 5. One session will be hosted from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and the second from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. If interested in volunteering, please contact Sarah Maniaci at 733-0084. Rachel’s Table also accepts donations of nonperishable food items and prepared foods donated by places such as restaurants, bakeries and schools. Toiletries are also collected for shelters. To make a monetary donation, please visit www.rachelstablespringfield.org/supportnow/donate.