10 Questions For...Dave Hereth

That's right! Here we go again with another installment of the ever-popular blog: "10 Questions For..." If you've missed the earlier posts, don't forget to read up on Janice Rivers, Penny Murray, and Alicia Green.

10 Questions for Dave Hereth: EECM Head Cook

1) How long have you been at EECM and it what capacities?

I am in my 7th year as Head Cook.

2) If you could be any superhero who would it be and why?

When I was a child I loved comics. There were many superheroes that today are mostly forgotten like Plastic Man, Bulletman, and Doll Man. Doll Man could shrink himself down to 5 inches all and yet retain the strength of a normal human. How cool is that?

3) What do you do when you're not at EECM?

Read, play fiddle, spend quality time with my cat and dog, and sit at what my kids call “the angry old man typewriter desk.”

4) What is your favorite Pittsburgh restaurant?

The Original Oyster House in Market Square

5) List the three adjectives that best describe your personality:

Snappy
Pulchritudinous
Soigne

6) What do you like best about working for EECM?

The fabulous salaries of the non-profit world.

7) Who is the best TV/movie villain of all time?

Captain Hook, of course

8) List four previous jobs you've had:

Graphic Designer (25+ years)
Group Home Cook
Personal Chef
2000 U.S. Census Captain for Fox Chapel, Blawnox, Harmarville, Cheswick and Springdale.

9) What is your favorite book?

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

10) What is your favorite (and least favorite) thing about Pittsburgh?

Favorite: The topography

Least Favorite: Everything else.

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.

Alligator Anyone?

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

EECM’s Food Pantry relies heavily on private donations to stock its shelves – we happily accept contributions from individuals, congregations, and businesses. There are certain staples that we are always in need of including tuna fish, peanut butter, pasta, spaghetti sauce, and canned fruit. We feature one of these each month as the “Food of the Month” to encourage regular donations of these items. You can always find the Food of the Month posted on the EECM website.

While we’re always thrilled to receive items from the Food of the Month list, we don’t limit donations to these items – we publicize that we accept most non-perishable food items. Which means that we get some…well…unusual donations from time to time.

Like caviar.

Or half-eaten jars of peanut butter (note that this is in the plural).

Or falafel mix.

Or a boxed food item with a coupon on the back that expired 8 years ago.

But perhaps the most intriguing Food Pantry donation of all time came in just a few days ago. Above you will see our Food Services Coordinator, Jim, posing with the item in question. Look closely.

Yes, that’s right. Canned alligator. Cajun style.

Being There: Volunteering in the Men's Shelter

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

Back in December, our Volunteer Coordinator was approached by a young man looking to volunteer with EECM’s homeless shelter. Most volunteers who come to the shelter are there to provide a meal -- congregations and community groups provide dinner at the shelter 365 days a year. But Wil wanted something more interactive, more hands on.

And so, once a week, Wil hangs out at the shelter. He has no agenda, no fixed assignment. When asked why he’s there, he responds “I’m here to help out.” He pitches in serving the meal when needed; he assists the shelter monitors when appropriate. But mostly, he just…is. We call it friendship ministry. Others, a ministry of presence. Wil calls it relationship building.

He wants to meet the guys in the shelter. Talk with them about their lives. Make them feel important, valued, not over-looked as they so often are in life. To phrase it theologically, he seeks to share the relational nature of God with the men in our shelter. In the vernacular, he just wants to get to know them.

In an effort to be respectful, Wil says he doesn’t usually initiate conversations – he doesn’t wish to intrude if someone is seeking solitude. But the men are generally curious about his presence amongst them and conversation flows easily over a variety of topics. He’ll stand outside with the circle of men smoking cigarettes, chatting about the weather and the Steelers game. Or he’ll watch TV and join in answering the Jeopary questions, or participate in a discussion about the latest feature on CBS news.

The conversation is usually neutral – sports, weather, television – but personal stories are interspersed throughout the more impersonal topics. Occasionally a man will share some of the journey that led him to the shelter. One was a drug addict who periodically attempted to clean up but each time relapsed back into addiction. He finally hit bottom when he borrowed a family member’s car and then sold it for drug money. Until then, he had avoided homelessness by staying with family members but, as he ruefully acknowledged, this time he had burned his bridges. The man says he's on his way back up now, though, having completed a rehab program. He’s optimistic about the future.

Over time, relationships form. The population of the shelter is transient by nature and it can be difficult to establish connections. But some of the shelter clients now greet Wil enthusiastically by name and he considers this to be a good sign. EECM’s Emergency Homeless Service Manager is exuberant in his praise of Wil’s time at the shelter. He says “We often have volunteers who want to come and clean or paint, and those are obviously important tasks. But we’re equally concerned with taking care of the internal. And that really takes a special kind of person.”

Thank You and Farewell from an EECM Board Member

EECM bids farewell and best wishes to Board Member Michelle K. Massie who is leaving the Pittsburgh area next month. In her parting letter, Michelle says:

I am incredibly proud to have served on this amazing board and to be apart of such an incredible organization for the past year. I am a huge believer in the good work that EECM does for the community and I will continue to support the organization in other capacities. We're at a time when EECM is needed more than ever and our young people need the guidance of love provided by the staff. I know our board will continue to set the pace for further social and spiritual growth and development in Pittsburgh's East
End.

Michelle has served the EECM Board of Directors since 2006 and we will miss the skills and enthusiasm that she brought to the organization. Good luck in Washington DC, Michelle!

Celebrating Our Volunteers

A Recipe for A Lovely Evening

Take 50 EECM volunteers (any age, size, shape or color will work fine).

Add a dozen staff members and a beautiful September evening. Mix in several talented local musicians and a mouth-watering variety of sweets. Stir and enjoy!

Yield: One perfect Volunteer Celebration Gathering

Last Thursday evening was devoted to showing our deep and abiding appreciation for the many volunteers whose generous donations of time allow us to do all that we do. Most of EECM’s programs benefit from the help of volunteers. Some, like Meals on Wheels or our Men’s Emergency Shelter meals, literally could not function without them. Throughout our program areas we have many hundreds of dedicated volunteers who spend anywhere from an hour or two a year to many hours a day, lending a helping hand. They interview clients at the Food Pantry. They play games with guests at the Orr Center. They do yard work for our elderly Meals on Wheels clients. They tutor struggling students. They do whatever is needed.

And so we wanted to say a huge and heartfelt Thank You. The event was hosted at one of EECM's Member Congregations, Calvary Episcopal Church, with food inside and seating spilling out onto a beautiful stone patio. Several local musicians, including the coordinators of our ExtraOrdinary tutoring program, provided background music and even inspired several attendees to get up and dance.

The food for the evening was an array of sweets from Oakmont Bakery (home of some of the most wickedly delicious treats you will ever taste) and an irresistible fruit salad. Vases of flowers – in EECM’s colors of course – adorned tables lit by candlelight and decorated with coordinating cloths. Programming was minimal – our Executive Director, a Board Member, and our Volunteer Coordinator all said a few words, but the focus of the evening was on companionship and fellowship amongst the volunteers and staff members.

All the volunteers wore a name tag, and in addition to listing their name, the tag also indicated how many years of service they have given to EECM. The numbers ranged from only a few months to more than 33 years.

One of my favorite things about the evening was a brief session of Volunteer Open Mic when volunteers were encouraged to say a few words about their experiences with EECM. One woman told us about how she had briefly been a Meals on Wheels client herself before deciding to volunteer with the program. A young man shared that he came to EECM’s volunteer program as part of a rehab program after suffering a brain-damaging car accident. Many of our Bridge Housing clients are also volunteers and they are always ready to share. Theirs was perhaps the most touching testimony, as they spoke of how they volunteered out of a desire to give back, after having received so much from EECM.

It’s all too easy to take for granted the amazing gift given by these volunteers. And we don’t want to do that. And so we will continue to host Volunteer Celebration Gatherings in years to come, as just one small way for us to show our gratitude.

The Stuffing Gang

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

Today I’m giving a shout-out to that faithful band of EECM volunteers who generously give of their time to one of the least glamorous (but oh so important) of volunteer activities – newsletter stuffing. The work is not sexy and the danger of paper cut wounds is ever-present, but these loyal volunteers answer the Call to Stuff several times a year with cheerful hearts and lightning-quick fingers.

EECM does four major mailings a year – three newsletters and a holiday card. And when I say “major,” I mean it. Each mailing is sent to more than 8,000 friends and supporters of EECM which means:

8,000 donation envelopes to stuff into…

8,000 newsletter and then seal with…

24,000 mailing seals (three per newsletter)

That’s a lotta stuffing. And if I had to do it by myself, I’d imagine it would take me at least a week. If I didn’t eat or sleep. I think last time around it took a combined total of more than 100 hours to get the newsletter appropriately stuffed and packaged. Lucky for me, we usually have a dozen or so saintly volunteers who show up for stuffing duty and between them get the job done in a couple days.

And, as is so often the case, a group of friendly people working together makes any job more enjoyable. They chat and laugh and catch-up while they work – many see each other only at stuffing time – and before you know it, the “to-be-stuffed” pile has dwindled to nothing and forty-some neatly labeled trays of newsletters are ready to go to the post office.

So three cheers (Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray!) for our wonderful newsletter volunteers. We couldn’t do it without you.

A Joyful Reunion

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

About a week ago, I had the opportunity to attend a very special EECM event, the 12th annual Bridge/PennFree Alumni Celebration. Appropriately titled The Journey Continues, this annual reunion is a chance for alumni of two of our transitional housing programs to get together, share their stories, reconnect with friends they made in the programs, and eat good food.

Bridge is a one-year residential housing program for men moving from shelter living to independent housing and PennFree offers rent assistance to both men and women (including single parents). Most of the participants in both programs have histories of substance abuse and an important component to both is engagement in recovery programs.

All of EECM’s staff were invited to attend the reunion to show our support for the amazing men and women who have worked so hard to turn their lives around. I was honored to do so.

The reunion is a popular event and I think there must have been a hundred people there. Each new arrival was greeted with shouts of welcome, many hugs, and exclamations about how good everyone looked and how big their children had grown. Stories were shared and successes rejoiced over – one PennFree alumni recently moved into a better apartment in a nicer neighborhoo. Another now runs her own business.

At one point, I found myself munching on potato chips and chatting amiably with a middle-aged man named Nathaniel. He was telling me about a former acquaintance of his named Nate. Nate was bad news – they’d lived together for a number of years but ultimately parted company because Nate was trouble and did drugs. And after I few minutes, I realized that “Nate” was Nathaniel’s way of talking about his own struggles with addiction. Nate was Nathaniel’s past, the person he used to be, the self he had managed to finally leave behind, due in large part to his participation in EECM’s housing programs.

Similar themes surfaced again and again as the alumni told their tales. There were jubilant stories of celebrating another year of sobriety; stories of discovering faith in the midst of adversity and of finding light within the darkness. Each alum who spoke expressed gratitude to the EECM staff for their unwavering support, and our PennFree and Bridge staff glowed with the joy of seeing their clients and friends standing before them sober, confident, and happy.

Throughout the evening, I also felt undercurrents of sadness in the references to alumni not present. Not everyone’s story ends happily and there were painful stories, too. The friend who had fallen back into addiction. The mother unable to regain custody of her children. The young man who was back in jail after violating his parole.

But despite these moments of sorrow, the tone for the evening was one of celebration. The men and women present that evening had come a long way on their personal journeys and although there are certain to be further obstacles ahead, they feel ready to face them, one day at a time.