Finding joy and impact with volunteer work Candace McKibben - Tallahassee Democrat

Reverend Candice McKibben
| Columnist

The recent magical snowfall in our area has created from all things, “snowy days” for children when school and day care centers are closed. This created a dilemma for parents and the opportunity for grandparents who are nearby to lend a hand for help.

My husband and I were excited to support our son, Corey and his wife Kadi, new to the Talahassi area, spending valuable time with their daughter, Carter, 5 years old and son Chandler, who is eight months until until until until until while, until, until, until, until, until, until, until, until, until, until, until, until, while they are at home.

Carter is an active and innovative child with more energy than I remember that I have ever had and does not love anything better than you to participate in the many scenarios it creates in your world.

It was also a joy to be with my little brother, “Chandler Kiben,” as Carter calls him, feeding him his bottle and sitting on the floor with him, carefully watching as he tried to eat every toy in his chest to toy to Find just the right one to soothe your lower gum.

Chandler is a nice little whose smile would melt a stone heart. I read a description in a beautiful book by Richard Ror, entitled “Divine Dance,” a book about the Trinity and the relational transformation, these words: “Children (and dogs) are still filled with natural hope and expectation that their smile will be returned. They tend to make direct eye contact by looking right at you, just grinning … and you can only with great effort to resist the kissing of a wide -open baby or to pay off a serious dog. “

Carter told me before, “I love your heart,” a gentle phrase that he learned from his cousins. I love what she and her sweet brother do on my heart to fulfill it with hope and a feeling that despite my worries about the world and my own problems, everything will be good.

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Filling boxes at Second Bank for Harvest Food

It was what I felt after a second harvest of a Fixed Income Adults Consumer Food Box, who need help to stretch their resources to meet at the end of the month.

The additional food program, commonly called a senior box program, is a federal program that aims to improve the health and nutrition of the elderly who can be nutritional uncertain. Thousands of such adults live in our area.

Due to the snowy weather, the volunteers in the warehouse had to be canceled and the wonderful volunteer coordinator Olivia Le sent an urgent request to the second volunteers of the harvest, who responded generously. When we arrived, the waiting area was filled with a diverse group of people eager to start.

Only two of almost 40 assistants were new to the program. Olivia gave them a quick destruction of what we would do, and in a few minutes we were arranged along the conveyor belt with drinking music and people who present themselves to each other, ready to start.

After two hours we pack more than 1600 boxes needed for our shift, one of the five shifts aimed at this particular program monthly.

In the end, I helped to prepare the packaged beans, peanut butter and apple sauce stations, making sure that the items are out of bent boxes and are accessible to the volunteers of the mounting line that will place them in the boxes that other volunteers had marked with A specific sticker and stick together before placing them on the conveyor lane.

Volunteer “floats” were moving around the warehouse floor to collect shrinkage and destruction of recycling boxes.

A positive energy in the room

A nice young man who was located next to me told me that his employer encouraged him to participate voluntarily one day a month, giving him the day to do so. He has helped in a number of different ways of a second harvest and says he is eager to do the sorting of rice, which he understands is fun. It sounds intriguing.

When we had a short small mechanical problem at the last stage of boxing, creating a line hold, I was reminded of this classic episode “I love Lucy” with Lucy and Ethel in candy candy in their apron in their apron pockets and mouth when they could not be keeping up with the pace of the belt. My new young friend assured me that he would look at this episode and watch it. And I imagine he can just.

There was wonderful energy in the room. As I looked at the warehouse where we worked, people young and old and of different nationalities and abilities smiled, some danced or swinging on music, others sing and everyone seemed to be happy there and help.

I don’t know about others there, but I know that I have to feel as if I’m doing something that has a positive effect on the lives of others during these difficult days. This has a positive effect on me.

Eating a need for a big turn

Big Bend’s second harvest has partnered with Feed Florida and Feed America, as well as local producers and groups who donate food or money, persons who deliver food and donations, and are also supported by the united way to the big band.

They serve 16 counties, including: Calhun, Franklin, Gaddden, Persian Gulf, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, Vacuula, Colombia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette and Sweat, covering a total of 12,400 square miles. In 2024, a second harvest distributed over £ 21 million nutritional food to people who need these 16 counties for free for these neighbors. This is enough for about 17.5 million meals. They also allocated over 8.7 million pounds of fresh products!

The staff is kind and professional. They are grateful for the support of the volunteers, which is essential for their activity, respectful for the time of the volunteers and they are passionate about their work. My spirits felt raised from the work we did together, realizing that my grandmother always said, “Many hands do the light work.”

Mother Teresa in talking about peace said, “If we have no peace, this is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” My soul has felt calm over the last few weeks because of the affiliation I have experienced with my son and his sweet family, my church in our worship and service, and a second harvest of the big turn in a volunteer shift that was so joyful and productive.

My prayer is that we can all find more peace, because we remember that we belong to each other and do everything that is by virtue of supporting those who feel alone or without belonging. What could you do to raise your own spirit and that of others next week?

Reverend Candice McKibben is ordained minister and pastor of the Talahasi Scholarship

Finding joy and impact with volunteer work Candace McKibben – Tallahassee Democrat

Filling boxes at Second Bank for Harvest Food

A positive energy in the room

Eating a need for a big turn

By james art

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Finding joy and impact with volunteer work Candace McKibben – Tallahassee Democrat

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