Dear Volunteer

Thank you for driving every week.  Thank you for leaving straight from work to wrangle LOTS of kids onto a van and into seatbelts.  Thank you for navigating potholes and narrow streets while serving as referee and impromptu counselor.  Some of the best “teachable moments” happen on the van.  Thank you for being a teacher.

Thank you for preparing meals for 30 or so people two times every week.  Thank you for serving every child with a smile and kind word.  Thank you for washing pots and pans, taking out trash, and putting together sacks of leftovers for kids who need extra food.   You are vital to God’s work.  You are satisfying hungry tummies with food…and satisfying hungry souls with love made tangible.  Thank you.

Thank you for spending hours pouring over possible menus and crunching numbers to see what foods are least expensive yet nutritious. Thank you for answering daunting questions like “How many hot dogs CAN 25 kids eat in one evening?”  (By the way, the answer is somewhere between 50-60).  Thank you for going to the store each week so kids can have fresh fruit and bread and occasionally, ice cream with sprinkles!  Your treats say “I love you” which helps kids to understand “Jesus loves you.”  Thank you.

Thank you for folding newsletters, answering my constant “I need an opinion!” queries, picking up kids who missed the school bus, saving the day during various “emergencies”, functioning as a moving company at a moment’s notice, and all the other million or so loving acts you do as a volunteer.  Thank you.