The Renaissance Volunteer

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

One Fall day in 2006, our Volunteer Coordinator, Emily, received a phone call from a man looking to donate some of his time to EECM. This is not unusual – it happens almost daily. What was unusual about this particular would-be volunteer was the time commitment he was looking to make. The majority of our volunteers spend a couple hours at EECM – driving a specific Meals on Wheels route, interviewing clients at the Food Pantry, or serving a meal in the Soup Kitchen. Tim said that when he came to volunteer with EECM, he wanted to stay for most of the day.

Fabulous! said Emily. What day do you think would work with your schedule?

Tim replied: How about Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays?

Once she picked her jaw up off the floor, Emily readily agreed to the plan and Tim joined the EECM volunteer team. Three days a week, he volunteers in our hunger programs, usually arriving by 7:45 AM and staying until after the Soup Kitchen closes at 1 PM.

During those five hours, he is a jack of all trades. The renaissance man of EECM. Emily keeps a flurry of volunteer files and schedules and classifies her volunteers by type (Bob = Meals on Wheels Driver). When Tim appears on a list or schedule it is as: Tim = The-Super-Flexible-Volunteer, because he is truly beyond classification!

Tim starts out by helping to prepare the 150 or more meals for the daily Meals on Wheels delivery, assembling sandwiches, ladling soup, and packaging it all together. If we’re short a pair of hands, he helps unload and sort the huge daily delivery of bakery items and produce that comes in from Whole Foods Market.

After that, he sometimes drives a Meals on Wheels route, delivering nutritious home-cooked meals to the elderly and homebound. If he’s not out on Meals on Wheels, he helps to prepare and serve the noonday meal in EECM’s Soup Kitchen. Tim says he likes this part of his day best – interacting with the clients as they go through the Soup Kitchen line. He’s become friendly with the regulars and enjoys greeting them as they arrive, or sitting down to eat with them if the lunch rush is slowing.

We love all of our volunteers, but Tim is unique because he has chosen to make his volunteer work with EECM such a high priority in his life. When chatting with fellow volunteers or clients, small talk often includes mention of employment – “What do you do when you’re not here?” When Tim gets asked the obligatory “so what do you do?” question, he responds with a smile and one word: This.