Week Ten

This week has been one crazy week. With the current public health concerns about COVID-19, many things have been shut down or up in the air. I am thankful that my internship is still up and running. One positive about being out of school and out of my normal work as a dance instructor is that I was able to double the amount of internship hours this week! This puts me closer to completing my necessary hours, and also allowed me to help more. Due to the nature of what the food bank does, we were considered to be a necessary non-profit agency; therefore, we are allowed to remain operational. Many employees have elected to remain home from work in both the warehouse staff and in the office staff because they have young children. The loss of a vital warehouse member has put a strain on the food bank due to the nature of his work hinging on his physical presence. But, we all respect and admire every workers’ personal decision during this time.

Other than the increased work load and new volunteer guidelines due to COVID-19, everything has been running relatively smooth. I was offered a paid position this week, and will begin officially working at the food bank after the conclusion of my internship! This was such an exciting and flattering offer. My boss and other employees have noticed my hard work and deemed me a valuable member, so much so they wanted to keep me around! I am very excited for this opportunity and cannot wait to be an official employee in the coming month!

March 16, 2020

This Monday was my longest Monday thus far into my internship. Typically, I work about four hours each Monday due to my class and work schedules. However, because of class and work cancelations in wake of COVID-19, I had more time to offer today and each day that follows.

I started my day with sorting fresh bread for the Fresh Bread program. This is a task I do almost everyday. I was in charge of sorting over five-hundred pounds of fresh bread! This was a record. Usually, there is about two-hundred pounds of fresh bread to sort. The five-hundred pounds more than doubled the average!

Volunteers who decided to come in for the day helped to bag Food 2 Kids meals. This was a very pressing matter because the UGA Food 2 Kids program is no longer able to help bag their usual seven-hundred bags each week. This has fallen on the food bank. The amazing volunteers knocked it out of the park! It just took the few volunteers we had a lot more time than UGA Food 2 Kids. But, time is not important! What is important is we got it done, and kids will have food for the weekend.

It is important to note that although I only really did two large tasks today, they were tasks that took a long time to complete. These tasks also took a lot of patience.

Assignments

Sorted the fresh bread products for the Fresh Bread program alone.
Assisted the interim Volunteer Manager, Bill Taylor, in monitoring Food 2 Kids bagging.

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility V, Competency A: Exercise organizational leadership.
Responsibility V, Competency B: Manage human resources.
Responsibility VII, Competency B: Apply a variety of communication methods and techniques.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.

March 17, 2020

Tuesday was another long day for me. I began the day by setting up an assembly line for Mobile Food Pantry. After setting up and explaining the task to volunteers, we bagged close to three-hundred meals to give to families who attend our Mobile Food Pantry program. We also were able to bag an additional ten Food 2 Kids bags for a last minute order.

Because of the COVID-19 public health concern, you would think the food bank would be out of luck with volunteers. This was not the case for today. We had several volunteers and several phone calls about volunteer opportunities. I answered at least ten phone calls, and over fifteen phone messages! I guess people decided they needed to leave the house? As previously explained, we are practicing intense public health practices to ensure the safety and well-being of our staff and volunteers.

Later in the afternoon, I helped to package our fresh bread donation. I also led volunteers in pulling our Senior Brown Bag program order for the week in the back warehouse. This takes much patience and vigilance to ensure we pull the correct products, and also pull the correct amounts.

Assignments

Set up and led volunteers in an assembly line for the Mobile Food Pantry program.
Answered phone calls and voicemails about volunteer opportunities.
Instructed and led volunteers in sorting the fresh bread products for the Fresh Bread program.
Pulled the weekly Senior Brown Bag program product order with volunteers.

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility V, Competency A: Exercise organizational leadership.
Responsibility V, Competency B: Manage human resources.
Responsibility VII, Competency B: Apply a variety of communication methods and techniques.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.

March 18, 2020

Today was a wild day at the food bank. It all started out fairly normal. I began my day by picking up fresh bread products from Panera Bread, Athens Bagel Company, and Big City Bread. These businesses were all closed to the public, and only open for pick-up orders. I applaud the efforts to combat COVID-19. Upon arriving at the food bank, I weighed and recorded the donation weight for our records, then immediately began leading volunteers in Food 2 Kids baggings for Oglethorpe County.

After Food 2 Kids for Oglethorpe County were complete, I helped transition the volunteers into doing sort and salvage. We only did one pallet before moving on to fresh bread.

Fresh bread was when I met my match. As I was slicing bread donations for the program, I happened to slice into my finger. This caused my finger to bleed nonstop, and eventually have to go to the Piedmont occupational healthcare office. I was unable to receive stitches because the skin was already dead and would rip, but I was given a pressure bandage and a tetanus shot. In addition, I had to take a drug test because I was filing for worker’s compensation. Overall, a crazy experience! The food bank was an amazing and helpful resource. I am so glad they helped with the costs, but I did feel guilty to be a financial burden.

After going to the doctor, I returned back to work and finished out my day doing sort and salvage. Mind you, I could only use one hand! Hopefully, this injury will not cause too much trouble.

Assignments

Went on the bread run to pick up fresh bread from Panera Bread, Athens Bagel Company, and Big City Bread for the Fresh Bread program.
Weighed and recorded the intake for the fresh bread program.
Helped and instructed volunteers in packaging Food 2 Kids bags.
Instructed and led volunteers in sorting the fresh bread products for the Fresh Bread program.
Participated in sort and salvage alongside volunteers and the Volunteer Manager, Bill Taylor.

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility V, Competency A: Exercise organizational leadership.
Responsibility V, Competency B: Manage human resources.
Responsibility VII, Competency B: Apply a variety of communication methods and techniques.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.

March 19, 2020

The day was essentially dedicated to trying our best to run ahead of schedule for Food 2 Kids bagging. We bagged a total of five-hundred bags to be distributed to Clarke County, Banks County, and Oglethorpe County. This activity took the first half of my day at the food bank. While running the assembly line for the bagging, I watched over the volunteers, giving them words of encouragement and reminders about the bagging process to ensure everything ran smoothly. I also helped to bag the products alongside the volunteers, as well as restock items in the assembly line if the product was running low.

After the first group had finished helping bag the needed Food 2 Kids weekend meals, I was able to take the six volunteers on a tour. Most of the volunteers this week have been young, college-aged students, and that was the case for this group. They were so fun on the tour. I think it may have been my favorite tour up to date!

In the afternoon, we had our new volunteers help sort the fresh bread donation. I helped as much as I could. It was definitely hard to be at my normal level of productivity during sorting because I am only able to use my right hand, due to my sliced finger on my left hand. But we made it through! Again, this was another fun group of volunteers! After fresh bread, we did sort and salvage of a large grocery store donation and called it a day!

Assignments

Set-up, bagged, and monitored volunteers during bagging of weekend meals for the Food 2 Kids program.
Gave a tour of the facility to six volunteers.
Instructed and led volunteers in sorting the fresh bread products for the Fresh Bread program.
Helped and led volunteers in sort and salvage of a large grocery store donation.

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility V, Competency A: Exercise organizational leadership.
Responsibility V, Competency B: Manage human resources.
Responsibility VII, Competency B: Apply a variety of communication methods and techniques.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.

March 20, 2020

Friday was an emotional day for my supervisor at the food bank because of new volunteer regulations set by the executive board. We found out that restrictions were placed on who we could accept as volunteers. This would majorly limit our resources. The limitations include a volunteer being over the age of eighteen and below the age of sixty, a volunteer not having left the United States in the last two weeks, and a volunteer must be on record for volunteering at our specific food bank in the past. While the new limitations are set in place to keep the community safe, it will now be harder to keep the community fed. However, we will persevere in light of this situation and simply work harder!

After discussing our daily plan, Bill Taylor and I had an interview scheduled. We have been searching for a new Volunteer Coordinator to help alleviate the workload. Since starting the search about one month ago, our luck has not been great. We had offered the position to one candidate. He accepted and then later turned the position down because he found a higher paying job. The interview with the new candidate went well, however, he may not be the best fit!

Once the interview was over, the real work began. The work load today was a lot, since we only had three volunteers all day. We worked exclusively on sort and salvage of donated goods to prepare our isolation room for impending donations. This was an extremely large task, but we were able to sort the entire room, and provide our shopping floor with new products to give to our verified non-profit shoppers.

Assignments

Assist with interviewing a Volunteer Coordinator candidate.
Participate and lead three volunteers in sort and salvage in order to clear out the entire isolation room.

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility V, Competency A: Exercise organizational leadership.
Responsibility V, Competency B: Manage human resources.
Responsibility VII, Competency B: Apply a variety of communication methods and techniques.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.

Week Eleven

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March 23, 2020

In the morning, I helped to set-up and instruct bagging for Eaton and Gardenview Mobile Pantry, which is occurring tomorrow afternoon at 5:30 P.M. Once the few volunteers present were comfortable on their own, I stepped into another interview for the Volunteer Coordinator position. This interview was with a man who was recommended by one of our staff members. Unfortunately, this applicant was not a good fit for the position. After attending the interview, I began helping with the Mobile Pantry bagging again.

The afternoon job was to bag twenty bags for the Senior Brown Bag program. These bags were going to be delivered to older adults in Jackson County. After bagging the designated amount for Jackson County, myself and our one volunteers helped to set up for Senior Brown Bag bagging for Clarke County.

The food bank also printed out and laminated official documentation for all employees stating that we are necessary employees. This was a proactive decision in case there was a mandatory shut down, allowing for employees to still travel to work. I was given a document so that I am able to travel to and from the food bank.

Assignments

Help lead volunteers and also bag two-hundred forty meals for the Mobile Pantry program in Eaton and Gardenview.
Sit in on an interview for the available Volunteer Coordinator position.
Set-up and bag twenty bags for the Senior Brown Bag program to be delivered to seniors in Jackson County.
Set-up the bagging process for the Senior Brown Bag program for Clarke County.

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility V, Competency A: Exercise organizational leadership.
Responsibility V, Competency B: Manage human resources.
Responsibility VII, Competency B: Apply a variety of communication methods and techniques.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.

March 24, 2020

I started the day by going on the bread run for the Fresh Bread program with our regular volunteer, Ms. Marta. Ms. Marta typically does the Tuesday bread run route alone; however, the food bank van was unavailable, so I used my personal vehicle and Ms. Marta and I picked up the bread together.

Once the bread run was completed, the major task for the day was to bag the five-hundred Clarke County Food 2 Kids bags for next week. The two morning volunteers helped do the first two-hundred bags. The five afternoon volunteers helped to do the next three-hundred bags. It was amazing that we were able to complete all five-hundred bags!

Assignments

Go on the bread run to Panera Bread, Farmcart, and Athens Bagel Company for the Fresh Bread program with the regular volunteer.
Set-up Food 2 Kids bagging assembly line and bag over five-hundred bags for adolescents in Clarke County.

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility V, Competency A: Exercise organizational leadership.
Responsibility V, Competency B: Manage human resources.
Responsibility VII, Competency B: Apply a variety of communication methods and techniques.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.

March 25, 2020

In the morning, I arrived at the food bank before my supervisor. We had two volunteers come in, and I assigned them to help with bread bag labeling until Bill arrived After Bill made it to work, he assigned the volunteers to sort the fresh bread donation we picked up yesterday. Once I had set-up the bread station, I answered phone messages and sorted through resumes. We are still looking to fill two positions, a Volunteer Coordinator and a Senior Driver. I made two phone calls to potential applicants. These applicants were informed we would be using Zoom to interview. We are excited to meet our new applicants!

Our other big mission for the day was to bag Food 2 Kids bags for the next week. We are trying to push ahead with our baggings in case something unfortunate were to happen and the food bank would be unable to fulfill its Food 2 Kids obligations. Luckily, we were able to complete the rest of our baggings and be a full week ahead of schedule.

Assignments

Assign labels to early volunteers.
Set-up and instruct fresh bread bagging for the Fresh Bread program.
Answer phone messages and coordinate two interviews to fill our open positions.
Create the assembly line for Food 2 Kids and start bagging for our remaining counties.

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility V, Competency A: Exercise organizational leadership.
Responsibility V, Competency B: Manage human resources.
Responsibility VII, Competency B: Apply a variety of communication methods and techniques.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.

March 26, 2020

The first part of the day was dedicated to filling our Senior Brown Bag program orders. We completed several bags, but we were unable to complete all of them in our first volunteer shift because we only had the help of one volunteer.

We finished filing the Senior Brown Bag program order in the second volunteer shift. We had two college students from the University of Georgia come in and assist. They were very efficient. After concluding the bagging, the volunteers and I unloaded two pallets worth of sort and salvage. Sort and salvage has been the program that has suffered the most. We have been able to complete Food 2 Kids and Senior Brown Bag, but we have had to put sort and salvage on hold. Even though we sorted two full pallets, we still have a lot more salvage to go through. We are remaining positive and will keep pushing through!

Assignments

Bag the Senior Brown Bag meals for Barrow County, Jackson County, and Homer United Methodist Church.
Participate in sort and salvage.

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility V, Competency A: Exercise organizational leadership.
Responsibility V, Competency B: Manage human resources.
Responsibility VII, Competency B: Apply a variety of communication methods and techniques.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.

March 27, 2020

We had to close off our volunteer department for the first volunteer shift from 9:30 A.M. until 12:00. We had an interview scheduled on Zoom at 10:00 A.M., and no one would be able to direct the volunteers during the morning shift. The afternoon was open to volunteers, and I helped to lead three volunteers in sort and salvage. We have been slowly trying to clear out the isolation room that is filled with salvage donations; however, this is our last priority.

Assignments

Assist with interviewing a Volunteer Coordinator candidate.
Participate and lead three volunteers in sort and salvage in order to clear out the entire isolation room.

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility V, Competency A: Exercise organizational leadership.
Responsibility V, Competency B: Manage human resources.
Responsibility VII, Competency B: Apply a variety of communication methods and techniques.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.

Week Twelve

Each week that goes by the issues surrounding COVID-19 grow a little bit larger. This week we have had to close down our Volunteer Center, as of Thursday. The positive side of things is that we are bringing in the troops! Literally! The Georgia National Guard will be sending five guardsmen to the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia. We are excited to have five consistent guardsmen to help assist with our increased demands at the food bank.

Even though the going is getting tough, we will keep on pushing! More daily updates can be found below!

March 30, 2020

Today was completely dedicated to bagging Clarke County Food 2 Kids bags for the next week. We were trying to push to be ahead of schedule. We were able to bag all five-hundred bags for Clarke County!

Assignments

Bag five-hundred Food 2 Kids bags for Clarke County.

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility V, Competency A: Exercise organizational leadership.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.

March 31, 2020

We continued our plan of action to bag ahead of schedule. We bagged an additional one-hundred bags for Banks County Food 2 Kids program. Bill and I also had an interview scheduled for a part-time driver position to assist in delivering brown bags for the Senior Brown Bag program. The interview was not very successful, but we were glad we were able to continue to use Zoom to communicate with candidates!

Later in the afternoon we accomplished two more pallets full of sort and salvage! This was a huge deal because we were able to proceed with clearing out our isolation room in preparation for more donations.

Assignments

Bag one-hundred bags for Banks County Food 2 Kids program.
Assist with interviewing a part-time driver candidate.
Participate in sort and salvage in order to clear out the isolation room.

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility V, Competency A: Exercise organizational leadership.
Responsibility V, Competency B: Manage human resources.
Responsibility VII, Competency B: Apply a variety of communication methods and techniques.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.

April 1, 2020

Sort and salvage was the name of the game today! We are expecting a large donation of salvageable groceries from UNFI on Friday afternoon. Because we need to make as much room as possible for this donation, we focused our efforts on sort and salvage all day. We barely made a dent because these pallets were particularly tedious to sort. Any progress is better than no progress!

Assignments

Participate and lead volunteers in sort and salvage in order to clear out the entire isolation room.

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility V, Competency A: Exercise organizational leadership.
Responsibility V, Competency B: Manage human resources.
Responsibility VII, Competency B: Apply a variety of communication methods and techniques.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.

April 2, 2020

Today we had to make the tough decision to officially close off the Volunteer Department. We are sad that we will not be able to see our regular volunteers for the foreseeable future, but we are confident that they will return when it is safe once again. On the bright side, we will be having five national guard soldiers from the state of Georgia working to assist the Volunteer Department on Monday! This was such exciting news! We are very hopeful that we will be able to accomplish all we need to, ensuring the health and wellbeing of the population we serve!

For the task of the day, I was assigned to bag one-hundred forty brown bags for the Senior Brown Bag program for Clarke County’s older adult population. This took me all day to complete. I was thankful to have the help of two volunteers in the mornings, and one volunteer in the afternoon.

Interestingly enough, we did have an evening group who did not cancel for our 5:30-7:30 volunteers shift. We had a small group from a local UPS branch and a small group from a local Rotary Club. With the help of these volunteers, while practicing social distancing and wearing gloves and masks, we were able to bag seven-hundred sixteen bags for our Food 2 Kids programs! This was incredible. We are now a whole two weeks ahead of schedule. The impossible has been done!

Assignments

Bag one-hundred forty bags for the Senior Brown Bag program.
Participate and lead volunteers in bagging seven-hundred sixteen bags for the Food 2 Kids program.

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility V, Competency A: Exercise organizational leadership.
Responsibility V, Competency B: Manage human resources.
Responsibility VII, Competency B: Apply a variety of communication methods and techniques.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.

April 3, 2020

The photo to the left shows the to-do list Bill and I created for Friday, April 3rd! Bill gave verbal consent to have his photo posted on this blog.

We had no volunteers today because the Volunteer Department has been officially closed to volunteers as of yesterday evening. Bill and I collaborated this morning and made a to-do list together. By the end of the day, we completed the entire list! Yay! I posted a photo of the list we created to show what my assignments were for the day.

Assignments

See the photo above!

Responsibilities and Competencies

Responsibility I, Competency C: Distinguish between behaviors that foster and hinder well-being.
Responsibility III, Competency A: Initiate a plan of action.
Responsibility III, Competency B: Demonstrate a variety of skills in delivering strategies, interventions, and programs.
Responsibility VII, Competency B: Apply a variety of communication methods and techniques.
Responsibility VII, Competency C: Promote health education professionally and collectively.