What it's like to Volunteer @ SHARE
Detailed Accounts Provided by Ron, SHARE Volunteer

Distribution Saturday

 4:00 a.m., time to get up. It was the beginning of a busy morning. I'd promised the folks at SHARE that me and Tami would help out on distribution Saturday. That meant I had to be on the road by 5:15 a.m.

The drive to SHARE was uneventful. We made good time though we did get one shock when we got there. Previous distribution Saturdays didn't start till 6 a.m., not so on this one. We got there at 5:35 a.m. and all the parking spots were filled. People were picking up food packages already. We managed to find a spot thanks to Sam, SHARE's webmaster I've mentioned previously. We then walked in and wondered where we should help out at.

Sam suggested bagging sweet potatoes but I wasn't thrilled with doing that. Jingle then came up and asked if I'd like to be a checker. What is a checker you ask? A checker is a person who takes the customer's order sheet and fills it. There are two kinds of checkers at SHARE. One checker gets single or small lot items such as 5 bags of apples while the other kind of checker handles orders for cases of stuff example: 4 boxes of black eyed peas. Both jobs are very important as they make sure the customers get what they've ordered. Neither me or Tami had been checkers before. I nervously decided to try it. Tami unbeknownst to me became a checker for cases of items.

In my opinion, the small order checker job is the harder of the two checker jobs because you've got more items you have to watch over though the large order checker could cost SHARE more money if they mess up. The small order checker checks off the number of each item the customer receives and makes sure the customer agrees with that number. You also have to make sure the people handing out the items give the customer the right number of items. A few times I found those giving out the items miscounted. Another problem you have is with stuff that the customer rejects an item for one reason or another. In one case, a customer rejected a bag of onions because one of the onions in the bag was bad. The checker also had to explain to the customer how things are done. Repeatedly, I had to explain to customers how they were going to receive their order of tangelos. We were prebagging them 20 to a bag and then putting in another bag anything under 20. So if a customer ordered 75 tangelos, they received 3 bags of 20 and another bag of 15. Lastly, I had to make sure the customer agreed he or she had received all the items I'd checked off and signed the form proving they'd received the goods. I then signed it and turned it into the office. For me, it was a nerve wracking job because I wanted to be absolutely sure the customer received everything they'd paid for.

The morning went quickly as the line of customers didn't seem to shrink for hours. I would finish processing one order, sign off on the paperwork, and promptly go back to the beginning of the line to start processing another order. The orders didn't slow down till 11 a.m. It was incredible how much food was distributed. When me and Tami first arrived, there cases of food stacked up on the warehouse floor. When we were all done, almost all the cases were gone. We actually ran out of turkey link sausages and had to substitute those with packages of ground turkey meat. The warehouse which had been filled with food now looked incredibly empty. Having the warehouse so empty though was a good thing as it meant those who figured how much to buy of each item had gotten it right. They would have very little left over that they would have to sell later.

Me and Tami left about noon and drove back to the apartment complex. For the people who work at SHARE, they would put away the leftovers, and see about tidying the place up. For them, the big holiday surge was over. They could finally take a breather though in 2 weeks time, things will begin to spin up again. It is a continuous cycle. The beginning of the month sees them taking orders and then ordering the necessary food. They also organize how ever many volunteers show up to help do whatever jobs need to be done (bagging potatoes, beans, or other food stuffs, making bags, boxing fixings, etc.). Things will begin to surge as it gets closer to distribution day. Distribution day is the peak of the surge. After all the food is distributed, they'll see what's leftover, start working on what is going to be in the next month's food packages, and take a short breather.

The people at SHARE have to find their work deeply satisfying. They help a lot of needy people stretch their food dollars while at the same time ensuring they get good nutritious food. They also help to build community by encouraging volunteerism. People who buy the packages are expected to do 2 hours of community service for each package they buy. SHARE is also a place where young people learn about community service and helping others. I've seen a lot of high school students do their mandatory community service there. For some students, it may be one of the few times where they get to help those less fortunate. I'll never forget meeting some students from Georgetown Preparatory School. It had to be a real eye opener for them to help out at SHARE.

If you might be interested in helping out at the SHARE warehouse in Bladensburg, I have their webpage linked on my blog. The webpage has a phone number where they can be reached as well as directions on how to get to the warehouse. I can promise you you'll meet some nice people including Jingle and help a worthy cause.