Volunteering at Help & Hope Center means helping bring the organization's vision to life. Assisting someone with an essential need can’t happen without the amazing work of our volunteers. We sat down with Cindy, who volunteers in client services and the food pantry, to talk about why she gives her time and what she’s learned about serving neighbors. When Cindy talked about Help & Hope Center, she expressed how deeply she cares about our mission. “I love what this organization stands for,” shared Cindy. Her connection to the mission is reflected in the ways she shows up, including welcoming clients and treating them with dignity.
Cindy first started volunteering with Help & Hope Center in the food pantry, and her role has expanded since. Today, she volunteers in both client services and the food pantry, helping neighbors get what they need and making sure they feel welcomed and respected.
Dignity in the Details
During our visit, Cindy gave us a tour of some of the spaces where she volunteers, including where we keep emergency essentials for neighbors experiencing homelessness. At Help & Hope Center, our primary goal is to help people remain safely housed and move toward greater stability, but we also recognize that some of our neighbors are already experiencing homelessness. In those cases, we provide essential items that help meet immediate safety needs.
We also toured the Client Services lobby. She pointed out where items were displayed on shelves so clients could easily choose what they needed. These resources include clothing, shoes, and household items. We continued our tour inside a Client Advocate office, where clients meet one-on-one with Client Advocates. In this office, we found things like over-the-counter cold medicine, new packages of socks and underwear, and baby formula.
While touring the Client Advocate office, one item stood out: several paper bags containing self-care spa kits assembled by volunteers. Volunteers like Cindy assemble these kits with donated items to help our clients feel dignified and cared for. Our volunteers know that how someone is treated matters as much as what they receive.
A Community That Gives
Cindy's commitment reaches beyond the walls of Help & Hope Center. She has been part of twenty consecutive toiletry drives through her church, New Hope Presbyterian, all benefiting Help & Hope Center. Helping ensure our clients have essential toiletry items is another way volunteers help them maintain dignity during a difficult time.
A Volunteer’s Perspective
We asked Cindy about her experience working with our clients, and we discussed the senior women who visit our center regularly after losing their spouses. Cindy understands how much it means to these clients to find practical help and a welcoming face here at Help & Hope Center. She’s happy to be a part of that.
She also reflected on her six years of volunteering at Help & Hope Center and the organization's history. Founded in 1984, Help & Hope Center began when Mela Rudolph set up an emergency assistance center in her garage. Cindy is proud of how the Center has grown to serve more than 5,000 households annually through food assistance, utility support, rental assistance, and resource navigation. Cindy put it simply and humbly, “Look what it’s become.”
That growth happens as volunteers like Cindy keep showing up. Thank you, Cindy, for your dedication to our work at Help & Hope Center.
