The YMCA celebrates MLK Day by an act of service day for every YMCA.
A center or a department will select what type of community project they would like to do, and it must be something geared towards helping the community. West Orem YMCA contributed by having Second Servings, which was run by Director of Community Outreach and Partnerships Gabriela Tohill.
Second Servings is a nonprofit organization that partners with the YMCA where they bring fresh food such as produce and dairy products and distribute the food to the community, they happen to be located in.
Tohill and her organization helped the community with food to combat food pantry scarcity within a certain amount of distance for families. If a family in that area were struggling and needed food, they would have to travel long distances to the nearest food pantry from where they live.
West Orem makes second servings happen by instructing each family to line up and receive a number.
Those who decided to volunteer for the day at different YMCAs were either from high school or from other departments who heard from colleagues about the day of giving something back to the community.
Many of these volunteers who were interested in helping had to reach out to Tohill, who ran the event specifically at the West Orem Y on MLK Day. Those interested in volunteering at a different building such as Tellepsen Downtown YMCA to volunteer for MLK Day would have to contact the director in charge of that facility. There were 30 volunteers for that day, all high school students, at the West Orem YMCA.
Outreach Director of Family Stability Lysabeth Busby also runs a food pantry at the Tellepsen Downtown YMCA. She connects to a widespread community due to her pantry being available to anyone regardless of distance.
During her time with Second Servings, she saw a couple of her own clients from Tellepsen Downtown Y food pantry at this location. One of her clients was Mr. Valmont who arrived at West Orem YMCA, the closest location to him.
“Yes, y’all give good stuff over there and also y’all are one of the closest pantries,” said Valmont.
Valmont told Busby that he would drive all the way to Tellepsen as the only pantry available to get food in his area. This was a 20-minute drive, a large distance for many families.
“It is very eye-opening to see how much they travel just to get the free food and the steps they must take to make sure they get it,” said Busby. “They are having to get there early to get a number, wait for hours in line, travel who knows how far, looking up different food events and pantries. It is a lot of work on their end.”
It is important to recognize the number of people who must take many steps to receive help such as food from many diverse sources and areas.
It is also important to recognize the acts of help by the volunteers who helped make this day run smoothly and efficiently.
Students were given carts to transport the items inside, and other volunteers helped unload and organize them. Each student was given an assigned station such as handling lettuce and salads.
They would organize all the food they are assigned for an easier view for the families. Once distribution began, they would stand over to make sure each family received a certain amount. There will always be a limit for every food item because they try to stretch out the food for as many families as possible.
As a worker or volunteer, lifting will be involved in this line of work, and it is told beforehand.
As a pantry worker who distributes food to the community weekly, this happens to be one of the best moments of the job. Volunteers get to be actively involved with the Houston Food Bank and help everything be distributed safely and efficiently.
“This type of volunteer work was different,” said one volunteer high school student. “It was hard seeing a different community in need. One child who wanted fruit asked for one apple. When I told him he could take as many as he wanted his face lit up. Really made me see things differently.”
MLK Day has always been and will continue to be an important day. Not only because it is a day of honoring civil rights and the end to segregation, but many Americans choose to honor this day by volunteering to help make their communities greater.
The YMCA continues to honor MLK Jr. Day by helping communities overcome daily struggles. One day can make a lasting impact on communities just as West Orem did.
Those interested in joining next year to help give back can find more information at https://ymcahouston.org/mlk-day-of-service.
