Written by Chris Ryan
People volunteer for organizations they love for many different reasons—and they get many different things from it in return.
Our volunteer of the month, Paul Garcia, found himself disabled after working for many years running his own landscaping business and, later, working as a diesel mechanic. No longer going into work every day, Paul found he needed an outlet, a way of giving back to the community.
So he got involved in 2012 helping distribute produce to children and families at Second Harvest’s Food For Children sites. These days he also volunteers five to six times a week in our warehouse sort room sorting food and packing produce bags for that program.
He admits that in his youth, he made some “not-so-great choices,” so he now feels grateful for the opportunity to work for the good of the community, and for people who “have no one” in their lives to help them. In addition to helping pack and distribute food at program sites, Paul delivers food to five elderly house-bound residents of his apartment complex.
Paul is bringing light to many people’s lives, but he says the thing he loves most about volunteering is “the people that make my day.”
Paul is a great example of how volunteering brings gratitude to the people who are helped, and to the helpers as well.