Four years ago, Jill Shenk and her friend Dana were looking for a way to give back to the community by delivering meals to folks in need. A friend told them about Food & Friends, they went to the volunteer training, and they have been driving a regular Friday morning delivery route ever since. Dan & Elisa Rosman started volunteering with Food & Friends back in the mid-90s…when they just had dogs to help with deliveries, no kids! While they did a delivery route every Saturday back then, now it’s once or twice a month. Paula Levin-Alcorn learned about Food & Friends’ needs for extra help during Thanksgiving and Christmas and has been a regular “Turkey Box” deliverer for years! Alan Savada and Will Stevenson are regular supporters of Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction, an annual event which helps raise close to a million dollars each year. As you can see, Food & Friends offers a wide range of possibilities, depending on your availability and desired time commitment.

Founded in 1988 as a service for providing meals to people with AIDS, Food & Friends now serves individuals living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses. With over 10,000 active volunteers, Food & Friends delivered over one million meals in 2014! While the main facility is in Northeast DC, there are also satellite locations where volunteers can pick up food to deliver in VA & MD.

Sound like something you would like to get involved with? Talk to any of these congregants or check out www.foodandfriends.org. You’ll be glad you did!

Would you like to share your volunteer experiences? An organization you love? Please contact us at social_action@etzhayim.net.