Dear friends and family of RTWM,
Volunteers are our superpower. In my entire professional life, I have never experienced a more dedicated, skilled and devoted group of people volunteering their time to serve others. Volunteers literally drive our organization, six days a week. They drive, dispatch, glean and grow food throughout the Valley. They help us in the office and in the boardroom. We are a small staff and yet a mighty team. In addition, we have a group of truly inspiring teen leaders who serve, educate and advocate for food justice and food security in our area.
Given this, we take the way we acknowledge RTWM volunteers and improve our stewardship very seriously. Our ice-cream social in August and our larger Appreciation event in September are among the ways we gather to explicitly share our thanks. We also have been working with United Way of Pioneer Valley, RSVP of the Pioneer Valley and Service Enterprise Institute to refine recruitment, onboarding, training and management of the over 350 volunteers that now work with RTWM throughout the year. This continues to help staff, volunteers and board members stay focused on our mission and our service; together we not just feed, but nourish, Western MA one delivery, one glean, one garden at a time.
In this issue, we celebrate what makes us unique – RTWM volunteers, our superpower. Join us!
If you or your office team, school team, or family would like to join our cadre of intergenerational volunteers of all faiths, backgrounds and beliefs, united by the belief we are here to do the most basic thing – feed people – reach out to us. We’d love to have you join our team!
Best,
Jodi Falk
Executive Director of Rachel’s Table of WM