Message from the team
Our 2021 spring edition coincides with us spotlighting some of our long-term volunteers during Volunteer Appreciation Week in April. We continue to be very fortunate with the number of individuals eager to support and assist our clients each week, in addition to all the behind-the-scenes work in our warehouse with sorting the food for our clients and Community Agency Partners.
We appreciate our volunteers’ sense of flexibility and patience as we continue to make daily adjustments to our health and safety protocols, including the number of people we can have onsite each shift. The safety of our volunteers, staff and clients is always a top priority.
We regularly receive feedback from our volunteers who share with us what a positive experience volunteering is for them and how helping others has truly enriched their lives. It is committed, kind and compassionate volunteers like you who help make the world a better place. Your generous contribution of time, hard work and dedication to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank (GVFB) is incredible. We appreciate everything that you have done for us and continue to do.
Volunteer Appreciation Week – April 2021
The contributions of volunteers since the beginning of 2021 have been truly astonishing. We had 757 volunteers donate 15,704 hours in the last four months across our three sites in Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization and make everything we do possible.
To wrap up the week-long celebration of National Volunteer Week, the GVFB staff created a thank you video for our volunteers. Whether you started volunteering with us recently, at the start of the pandemic or have been with us for many years, we are all extremely appreciative of the amazing individuals and groups who came together to support the community.
Moscrop Secondary School Students Volunteered at Our Warehouse
Mavis Anthony is a beloved home economics teacher and chef at Moscrop Secondary School. In December 2020, Mavis reached out to the GVFB for support. She had a group of students eager to cook and families in need of nutritious meals.
Currently, the GVFB supplies the Moscrop Grade 9 and 10 Skills Exploration Food Classes with weekly food deliveries. With our support, their students can prepare meals for at-risk peers and their families. We are thrilled to support such an amazing cause!
When Mavis heard that we were accepting students as warehouse volunteers, she applied immediately and organized a couple of field trips for her students. We expect to host volunteer groups at our warehouse again when it is safe to do so!
Your Volunteer Impact from January to March 2021
- 1928 new clients registered with the GVFB
- 13,206 volunteer hours were donated to the GVFB
- You sorted 645,884 lbs of fresh and non-perishable food
- 1,463,000 lbs of food were donated to the GVFB
- You helped us distribute 18 lbs of food per individual per week
- 865 new volunteers registered at the GVFB
