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Al's Outreach Outtakes
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February 27, 2021Last week’s column I talked about how no one person or organization can tackle some of the big issues alone, but that together we can have a significant impact. This past week I experienced two examples of that I thought I would share.
The first comes from a brief conversation I had with someone who was getting a food box from our Thursday distribution at Beaverton Foursquare. As we were loading, the passenger wanted us to know what it meant to her to be able to receive this food. She told us it was the difference between being able to eat rather than going hungry. She was thrilled when we told her we would be there at least through the end of March. A great example of government, churches and volunteers all working in unison to address one huge problem; hunger. The impact is meaningful.
The second example started with a phone call I received one morning. Dad called to ask if we would be able to accept some non-perishable food donations that his daughter had gotten. Turns out, for the last three years she asked for birthday presents to be in the form of food donations, which they had taken to the Food Bank. Since the Food Bank is not currently accepting donations like this, would we take them? Absolutely! A short time later, dad and his 9 year old daughter arrived with 700 pounds of food! Turns out, her party had to be canceled because of the snow and ice so she decided to put up a sign in the yard and all of the neighbors pitched in. She has already learned the strength of collaboration.
Several of you have asked me if there is anything that you can do to help the new Beaverton Resource Center. We are currently looking for volunteers to help answer phones, emails, etc. While these volunteers are needed within the building, we have a strict COVID policy that is enforced. Starting in March we will be open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am until 1pm. If you would like to help please go to our website at beavertonresourcecenter.org and click on the Volunteer tab to complete the application. You can also either call or email me with any questions you might have. Thanks for your support!