Turning Hunger Into Hope
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“One of the greatest gifts you can give is your time.” At Village Bank, we are committed to supporting the community. From passing out candy in local parades to collecting food/funds/supplies for various charities. We strive to make a difference in the areas we serve. In the last year, a group of us wanted to find a new way to volunteer our time. We were looking for something after business hours to allow us all to participate. An organization that came to mind was Feed My Starving Children. Founded in Minnesota, Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a Christian non-profit organization that provides nutritional meals for malnourished children and families all over the world. Donations they receive fund the ingredients, which are then hand-packed by volunteers and shipped to countries in need. We had arrived at the FMSC Coon Rapids location for our first 8-9:30 pm shift. We were one of several groups there that night to pack food. They start each session off with a brief welcome and an instructional video. The food we were packing was to be shipped to Uganda. From there they assigned everyone to a packing table. It just so happened that we were not the only bank volunteering that evening and of course, we were paired with them. They were a group from Wells Fargo which made for a fun and friendly packing competition. Once back in the packing room you have 5 duties to choose from; scooping the ingredients into the bags, holding the bags under the funnel, weighing the bags, sealing the bags, or boxing the bags. Not knowing what to expect, we walked over to the open positions at the table. Music began blasting in the background which indicated it was time to start packing. Positive energy waved across the room as we packed the bags! Everyone was singing, dancing, and cheering with a hint of playful banter between the two banks. At the one-minute warning, we raced to pack a few more bags to fill one last box, bringing us to a total of 26 boxes, just at our table. We came in as two competitors and together we made one fantastic team! In that hour and a half, a total of 106 boxes were packed equaling: In that one and a half hour shift, we changed the lives of 63 children. The results were truly inspiring. Before leaving they brought us back to the loading dock to pray over the food we had just packed. It was an incredible feeling knowing that in a few short weeks families in Uganda were going to be receiving these life-changing meals that we packed with our very own hands. Since then, we have committed to volunteering one night a month at FMSC. We have gained a few more volunteers along the way and are continuing to turn hunger into hope. |