The graying populations of upstate New York and Cayuga County have created a double challenge for the Community Caring Center.
Tasha Wilson checks boxes of food set to go to Unity House at the Community Caring Center in Auburn. Tasha, originally from Elmira, became a volunteer when she moved to Auburn in order to "help give back to the community." DelloStritto / The Citizen
The local food pantry is facing not just an increase in the elderly who need extra help, but an aging pool of volunteers. The operation runs on an all volunteer basis, and "none of us are getting younger," said coordinator Nancy Murphy. One of the biggest challenges the center faces is attracting volunteers.
Many of their volunteers are at an age where you would expect them to need help themselves, rather than be giving it to others.
"One of our volunteers will be 90 in January, and she still shovels her own snow." Murphy said. "Another of our volunteers is 86, we have a couple in their 70s and in their 50s. They're here practically when we open the doors."
The center started in 1998 and is one of the top five in the state, according to the Food Bank of Central New York. It solicits donations of food, prepares boxes, and distributes them to those who need them. Half of their operating space is filled with clothes and furniture for anyone who needs it. The Community Caring Center works out of a building that First Love Ministries owns and lets volunteers work in for free.
On a recent morning, volunteers were busy chopping bushels of cabbages that had been donated by a local farmer.
Other local farmers and grocery stores - P & C, Tops, Wal-Mart, BJ's, and Wegmans - also donate food. KFC donates food that, because of company time standards, it can no longer sell. The chicken and biscuits make good frozen dinners.
The camaraderie amongst the volunteers was evident. "we're like a family," Murphy said.
Volunteers head out to the stores seven days a week to pick up donations, which are then sorted and packed into boxes. Each day, volunteers take the boxes to a different location in and around Auburn. They concentrate on serving the senior population, "which is where our heart is," Murphy said.
Wegmans supplies the center with a steady stream of vegetables and fruits. Touches like this that make the pantry's boxes unique and a special treat to get, as well as supplying clients with much-needed nutritional variety.
On Tuesday, the boxes of food were going out to Schwartz Towers. On other days, boxes go out to Stryker Homes, the Boyle Center, and Mercy Apartments. Any left-overs are shared with other food pantries, such as those run by First Love, Calvary, and Throopsville. Tuesday through Saturday, the doors also open to the public for emergencies. In the summer, they take food to migrant workers in King Ferry. Volunteers also make individual home deliveries to those who can't get to them - the elderly and the handicapped. "When volunteers go into a home, they see a situation or need that goes beyond food," Murphy said. "A lot of elderly don't have anyone to take care of them."
"We're seeing a big increase in the elderly and the working poor," Murphy said. She attributes it to the fact that "everything's going up except people incomes." Food stamps are quite minimal, she pointed out.
The increased need only underscores the need for more volunteers. The center needs more young people, "and we need some more men," Murphy said. Couples - married or just friends - make good volunteers. So do mothers whose children are in school, and the newly retired. The center has one family, who home schools their children, and another volunteer who brings along her granddaughter on Saturday mornings.
The center needs drivers as well. "It's not a huge commitment. A couple hours one morning a week is a lot of help," Murphy said.
At 35, Tasha Williams is an anomaly at the center. A volunteer through Grace House, Wilson was "looking through its volunteer pamphlet for Cayuga County and the food pantry stood out." She started volunteering at the center in August.
"I like to help the needy in the community," Wilson said. She has volunteered at food pantries in other cities, such as Elmira, and is impressed by the quality and quantity of donations at the center. Most food pantries aren't able to offer their clients fruit and vegetables, she pointed out.
"It's a very caring community here," Wilson said. "So many stores are willing to help. That's awesome."
The center advertises for volunteers through a national retired volunteer organization. Although there are a lot of seniors who are interested in volunteering, there are also "so many needs in the community."
Murphy's "favorite success story" is when a girl came in seeking help for her grandmother, who was in her 80s. The granddaughter was visiting and was only in the city temporarily. She left her grandmother in the hands of the volunteers at the center. They helped furnish her apartment, and eventually helped her move into the Boyle Center. One of the volunteers who was delivering food to her has "adopted" her.
"Where else do you have an opportunity to make a difference in somebody's life?" Murphy asked.
Staff writer Mary Bulkot can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 235 or mary.bulkot@lee.net
Many of their volunteers are at an age where you would expect them to need help themselves, rather than be giving it to others.
"One of our volunteers will be 90 in January, and she still shovels her own snow." Murphy said. "Another of our volunteers is 86, we have a couple in their 70s and in their 50s. They're here practically when we open the doors."
The center started in 1998 and is one of the top five in the state, according to the Food Bank of Central New York. It solicits donations of food, prepares boxes, and distributes them to those who need them. Half of their operating space is filled with clothes and furniture for anyone who needs it. The Community Caring Center works out of a building that First Love Ministries owns and lets volunteers work in for free.
On a recent morning, volunteers were busy chopping bushels of cabbages that had been donated by a local farmer.
Other local farmers and grocery stores - P & C, Tops, Wal-Mart, BJ's, and Wegmans - also donate food. KFC donates food that, because of company time standards, it can no longer sell. The chicken and biscuits make good frozen dinners.
The camaraderie amongst the volunteers was evident. "we're like a family," Murphy said.
Volunteers head out to the stores seven days a week to pick up donations, which are then sorted and packed into boxes. Each day, volunteers take the boxes to a different location in and around Auburn. They concentrate on serving the senior population, "which is where our heart is," Murphy said.
Wegmans supplies the center with a steady stream of vegetables and fruits. Touches like this that make the pantry's boxes unique and a special treat to get, as well as supplying clients with much-needed nutritional variety.
On Tuesday, the boxes of food were going out to Schwartz Towers. On other days, boxes go out to Stryker Homes, the Boyle Center, and Mercy Apartments. Any left-overs are shared with other food pantries, such as those run by First Love, Calvary, and Throopsville. Tuesday through Saturday, the doors also open to the public for emergencies. In the summer, they take food to migrant workers in King Ferry. Volunteers also make individual home deliveries to those who can't get to them - the elderly and the handicapped. "When volunteers go into a home, they see a situation or need that goes beyond food," Murphy said. "A lot of elderly don't have anyone to take care of them."
"We're seeing a big increase in the elderly and the working poor," Murphy said. She attributes it to the fact that "everything's going up except people incomes." Food stamps are quite minimal, she pointed out.
The increased need only underscores the need for more volunteers. The center needs more young people, "and we need some more men," Murphy said. Couples - married or just friends - make good volunteers. So do mothers whose children are in school, and the newly retired. The center has one family, who home schools their children, and another volunteer who brings along her granddaughter on Saturday mornings.
The center needs drivers as well. "It's not a huge commitment. A couple hours one morning a week is a lot of help," Murphy said.
At 35, Tasha Williams is an anomaly at the center. A volunteer through Grace House, Wilson was "looking through its volunteer pamphlet for Cayuga County and the food pantry stood out." She started volunteering at the center in August.
"I like to help the needy in the community," Wilson said. She has volunteered at food pantries in other cities, such as Elmira, and is impressed by the quality and quantity of donations at the center. Most food pantries aren't able to offer their clients fruit and vegetables, she pointed out.
"It's a very caring community here," Wilson said. "So many stores are willing to help. That's awesome."
The center advertises for volunteers through a national retired volunteer organization. Although there are a lot of seniors who are interested in volunteering, there are also "so many needs in the community."
Murphy's "favorite success story" is when a girl came in seeking help for her grandmother, who was in her 80s. The granddaughter was visiting and was only in the city temporarily. She left her grandmother in the hands of the volunteers at the center. They helped furnish her apartment, and eventually helped her move into the Boyle Center. One of the volunteers who was delivering food to her has "adopted" her.
"Where else do you have an opportunity to make a difference in somebody's life?" Murphy asked.
Staff writer Mary Bulkot can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 235 or mary.bulkot@lee.net
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