Volunteering is what made us “Texas Strong” after Hurricane Harvey, but there’s always a need for people willing to give up their time to help others.
Del Mar College held a volunteer fair Sept. 24-25 to urge students to spend time doing something good for others.
Programs such as the Purple Door, the Coastal Bend Food Bank, Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group and more were there to recruit volunteers.
Sylvia De La Cerda, the volunteer coordinator for The Coastal Bend Food Bank, was eager to sign students up.
Volunteer duties include food inspection and separation, mobile pantry distribution and special events like the Miles for Meals, Harvest of Hope Dinner and Share your Christmas.
“Volunteering at the Food Bank is a very rewarding and fulfilling experience. With your valuable help, we are able to provide food to those in need in our 11-county service area,” De La Cerda said.
JoAnn Buchanan, volunteer donations manager with Disaster Recovery Group, was seeking skilled volunteers and students with construction, project management, MS Access and videography/photography experience.
Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group aids disaster survivors with long-term recovery by providing case management services, construction/home repair, household donation and spiritual care/counseling.
“We just hand the keys over to the family and to see the family so grateful, it is a rewarding feeling,” Buchanan said. “You need to come by and see it for yourself.”
Buchanan said the Disaster Recovery Group works closely with another volunteer group, All Hands and Hearts organization, on repairing homes affected by Harvey.
Abby Bonilla and Lauren Kean gave insight to where most of their volunteers come from for All Hand and Hearts.
“Workaway.info is a website some of the volunteers use to travel all over the world to help rebuild,” Kean said. “Southwest has a voucher program that allows them to fly free in the United States with proof that they are volunteering.”
“We get church groups during the summer, but we would like students to consider giving up their Saturday to volunteering,” Bonilla said.
Helping our neighbors is our true Viking nature. Accept the challenge and sign up.
