Our Volunteers Make a Difference

Second Harvest honored the volunteers from this past year at the annual appreciation event held at the Vermilion Boat Club on May 2, 2019. Many Volunteers were on hand to enjoy a special evening of food, fun and appreciation.

The highlight of the evening came with the announcement of the winner of the Jimmy L. Davis Spirit of Community Award, which is our highest volunteer recognition for an individual. Libby Davis-Williams presented this prestigious award. This year, the award goes to Nancy Sugarman. Nancy volunteers on a regular basis at least three times per week. In 2018, she logged in a record-breaking 309 hours! She is a role model for others and shares her positivity, reliability and leadership with staff and volunteers alike.

This year, the awards committee felt strongly compelled to add a new category, Inspiration of the Year award. A qualified candidate will embody the characteristics of inspiring us all – staff and volunteers – by demonstrating motivation, enthusiasm and diligence. This year, we have such a person who exemplifies these characteristics. We are proud to announce that Steven Roberts is the winner of the 2019 Inspiration Award. Steven has been volunteering at Second Harvest for the past two and a half years. He is a great volunteer recruiter and will be the first one to take on a new challenge like last year when he helped to distribute Christmas trees at El Centro in the bitter cold.

The Harvester Award was awarded to Macy’s Technology of Lorain. They have a corporate culture that is centered on four core values, one of which is Giving Back. They volunteer for many groups, donate blood and run campaigns. They have made their presence know at Second Harvest volunteer activities with their thorough and enthusiastic attitude. From sorting donated items in repack to braving the cold at a direct distribution event at any of the school pantries in March, they show up with a smile and a can-do attitude.

In the Spirit of Gratitude Recognition is given posthumously to those who have volunteered in a significant capacity at one time for Second Harvest. This year, we remember Shirley Nain. She was given the Jimmy L. David Spirit of Community Award and passed away shortly after receiving the honor.

This year, there were 2,216 volunteers helping at Second Harvest logging in 18,251 hours, which is equal to 8+ full time employees. They processed 1.6M pounds of food. That is 45% more than last year. About 1.3M pounds of food was distributed to our partner charities. We repurposed 300K pounds of food as animal feed, compost and incinerated OTC medicines and recycled cardboard and plastic. As a result, we reduced our trash by 50%. Those are very impressive numbers and reflect our theme. To all of our volunteers: YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE!