'Silent champions' backbone of community: East Gwillimbury Food Panty

Volunteer time 'worth the same' throughout the year

Yorkregion.com
December 20, 2018
Amanda Persico

All the merriment and good tidings of the Christmas season cause many people to think about making the holidays brighter for those who are less fortunate.

But volunteers are needed at all times of the year.

On a recent December afternoon, volunteers from a local realtor group, along with New Leaf clients -- those with developmental disabilities -- are stacking and sorting 14,000 pounds of donated food items.

There are no barriers to volunteering, said Christine Stewart, who co-ordinated the volunteers.

“Anyone can volunteer,” the East Gwillimbury resident said. “Everyone’s time is worth the same, regardless of age, gender, religion or ability.”

Volunteers sorting the food donations are cheerful, smiling and happy to lend a helping hand.

“Where else can you go and feel this good, hugs and high fives,” said Stewart, who founded the Holland Landing Food Pantry. “I won’t ever make $1 million, but I always feel like a million bucks.”

Beans, sorted by type, over here. Tomatoes over there. Expired, dented or rusted cans in this corner. Baking goods on this shelf. Milk crates filled with tin cans line the dirt floor. Rows and rows of Kraft Dinner and bag of rice line greenhouse workbenches.

More than 14,000 pounds of non-perishable food items were collected through the Hunger for Hockey campaign.

This one campaign will sustain the food pantry for an entire year, Stewart said.

Some people have a very specific idea of what volunteering is -- handing out food to homeless people or ladling soup to the needy at a nearby shelter.

But there’s work that needs to get done behind the scenes -- some might call it grunt work, but Stewart calls those who make the effort silent champions.

She refers to a senior resident who goes from collection bin to collection bin in town, carting items over to the food bank.

No one has ever met him, Stewart said, but he’s the backbone of the community.

“There’s more to (volunteering) than handing someone food,” said the mother of two. “It’s those getting caught in the rain or a snowstorm, filling their cars and bringing it to the pantry.”

Stewart often puts out a call to volunteers on social media and residents jump at the chance.

“East Gwillimbury still has that small-town feel,” she said. “We want to help our neighbours, even though we don’t know our neighbour uses the food pantry.”

Volunteers are also a critical resource for the town, said Aaron Karmazyn, the town’s community parks, recreation and culture general manager.

Establishing a formal volunteer program was rolled into the town’s parks and recreation master plan.

This fall, the town launched Engaged EG, an online portal for residents to volunteer at town events. Since the launch, close to 30 residents have registered with the program.

The town is seeing families volunteer together, said Karmazyn, who often volunteers with his son at town events.

“It’s encouraging to see parents and children volunteering together,” he said. “You’re giving back while spending time with family.

“This is what we set the program up for. It’s proof it’s successful.”

There are so many possibilities for Engaged EG beyond volunteering at town events, including volunteering for one of many town committees, Karmazyn added.

Along with the town, the public library also relies on volunteers to help make some library programs successful.

The East Gwillimbury Public Library offers volunteer opportunities throughout the year, including helping youngsters read through the buddies program, delivering books to residents who are homebound and helping to lead various programs.

The majority of volunteers for the library’s reading programs are teens looking to fulfil their mandatory high school hours, said Angela Ramsey, the library's manager of customer experience.

Most high school students who volunteer with the library do so at the last minute.

“We put out promotions,” she said. “We send high schools the information. We don’t hear back and we wait. Then it all comes at once.”

Meanwhile the town’s home delivery service has a steady stream of volunteers who are retired, Ramsey added.

The library doesn’t have the staff to run some of these essential programs and often relies on volunteers to lead them.

But sometimes volunteers cancel and the library has to cancel the program.

“If someone doesn’t show up to help at the Santa parade, that’s not a big deal,” Ramsey said.

But to cancel a reading buddy or another volunteer-led program is “disappointing.”

The young reader then has to wait for another reading buddy match-up.

“It’s hard,” Ramsey said. “We can’t control what comes up. But that’s our name, our programming. Residents rely on us and we’re falling short.”

Learning from recent experience, the library plans to train library staff to act as backups.