National Volunteer Week: FFTP Celebrates Its Volunteers and Their Commitment to Service
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (April 22, 2024) – The spirit of volunteerism is alive and well at Food For The Poor (FFTP), where the joy of serving is brought to life by people who selflessly donate their time to help others.
In anticipation of National Volunteer Week, which began on Sunday, April 21, and continues through Saturday, April 27, FFTP paid tribute to its volunteers with a spirited program and luncheon.
“Just over two years ago, we had no volunteers at Food For The Poor, and today we have so many people joining us in doing this incredible work,” said FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine during the celebration on April 11. “I hope that when you come here you feel like you’re doing something that’s meaningful because the kits you pack are going to grateful families in need of our help.”
In the two years the program has been underway, FFTP has registered more than 1,400 volunteers. That total includes 140 who go to the charity’s Coconut Creek headquarters on a weekly basis and an additional 98 who recently registered to join the core group of weekly volunteers.
In 2023, FFTP volunteers donated 3,488 hours, valued at more than $110,900, to pack 54,171 relief kits, including:
- 917 Cleaning Kits
- 2,540 Women’s Care Kits
- 2,690 Water Purification Packets
- 6,670 Liquid I.V. Packs
- 19,109 Family Food Kids
- 22,245 Disaster Hygiene Kits
In addition, the charity’s core group of weekly volunteers began packing 10,000 disaster hygiene kits in mid-March. The kits will eventually be sent to Haiti in response to the ongoing crisis of violence and political instability that has devastated the country.
While the FFTP-Haiti staff has recently been able to distribute goods in the country, the charity currently is amassing an inventory of relief supplies to be ready for shipment once the country is stabilized. As of Friday, April 19, volunteers have packed almost 7,700 disaster hygiene kits, 2,010 women’s care kits and 5,860 Liquid I.V. packs that will be shipped to Haiti when conditions allow.
Aubrey McLean, originally from Guyana and now a resident of Coconut Creek, is among the people who volunteer at FFTP on a weekly basis. He spoke at the volunteer recognition program and shared the special connection he has with FFTP.
McLean and his wife discovered FFTP while on a bicycle ride around their neighborhood. Intrigued, they stopped to learn more about the organization and ultimately signed up to volunteer. On their way home, McLean realized that FFTP was the organization that supplied food, clothing, and household items to him and his three children from 2015 to 2023 through his church while he was living in Guyana.
“We were always grateful when we received packages from the church – it was like opening gifts on Christmas morning,” McLean said. “The food helped us through many rough patches, especially with me being a single father at the time. I never could have imagined that life would have brought me full circle to be a volunteer at Food For The Poor.”
The roster of volunteers also includes student athletes from Florida Atlantic University, who visited FFTP recently to pack Liquid I.V. packs and write Hope Cards that will eventually be distributed in Haiti. The students, many of whom are members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) at FAU, included the beach volleyball team, women’s basketball, and baseball players.
Invited to visit through the charity’s new Generational Expansion Initiative, members of the group are looking forward to returning to FFTP when they return to school in the fall.
“They loved it,” said Ashleigh Holweger, area FCA representative. “They thought it was so much fun and they want to do it again. It was a high-energy environment, and they got to serve with each other, which made for a great experience.” Volunteers are continuing to pack kits to help Haiti three days a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 2:30 p.m., and Wednesdays from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Registration is required. To learn more visit foodforthepoor.org/volunteer-today/.
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty primarily in 17 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit foodforthepoor.org.
Ernestine Williams
Communications
305-321-7342
[email protected]
