NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK: Harvest Hope’s mission of feeding the area made possible by Midlands residents
COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — The third week in April celebrates National Volunteer Week which thanks those who donate their time to organizations. Many here in the Midlands rely on them, including Harvest Hope Food Bank.
“We really just can’t function without volunteers. Everything that we do here cannot be done by ourselves. We love to see the community help each other here,” said Kara Pippin, Harvest Hope food pantry coordinator.
One of those volunteers is Leah Tudor, who got involved with Harvest Hope when she retired.
“As the pandemic hit, this was the only place I could share and help out with other folks,” said Tudor. “I started coming three days a week and have been doing it ever since Monday, Wednesday, Friday.”
Tudor is now one of many regulars at the food pantry.
“They’ve stayed with us this whole time. They have a passion for helping people,” Pippin said. “They’ll do a lot of different projects such as intake with the clients to sorting through produce.”
“Sometimes it’s a big juggling act back there,” Tudor said.
Despite how busy it can get at Harvest Hope, she enjoys the friends she has made on her shifts.
“You just get to know them and get in sync with them. It just becomes a very enjoyable, pleasant opportunity to hang around with people and do a great service for the community at the same time,” Tudor said.
There is more than just the food pantry that needs help from volunteers.
“We also have a lot of opportunities outside of the food pantry. You can pack boxes of dry goods. We have a lot of different programs,” Pippin said. “We have a backpack program and a mobile food pantry program. It requires a lot of boxes going out each month. We need a lot of hands for that.”
There’s a good chance you might run into Tudor as well.
“I will be here forever,” Tudor said. “In fact, I try to get other folks to come and volunteer.”
If you would like to become a Harvest Hope Volunteer, check out their website here.
