Lizzette has always wanted to do two things: spend time with her dad and give back to the community. After 40 years of being regional manager for apartment communities, she decided to retire early to spend more time with her dad and volunteer at Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.
Previously in South Florida, Lizzette did a lot of team volunteering at Feeding America with her company. Since moving to Central Florida, she looked around for a similar cause to find an extension of what she was doing and found Mercy Kitchen, the food bank’s production meal site. Lizzette feels that it is important to give back to help those who are in need, especially those facing hunger.
“Being able to come volunteer and help feed those that are in need is a cause that is close to my heart,” she claims.
Lizzette began volunteering at the food bank just this year and has committed to volunteering at Mercy Kitchen three times a week. Since her involvement, she has donated over 110 hours of her time, earning her a Second Harvest Food Bank shirt that she wears proudly.
Lizzette notes the sacrifice you make when you are passionate about something. She used to get up at 7:30 a.m. for work, but now she gets up at 6 a.m. to volunteer.
“I’m losing an hour of sleep on my own on purpose because I want to be here, and it’s fun,” she says.
One of Lizzette’s favorite parts of volunteering would be all the different people she has met from the food bank. From the Mercy Kitchen staff to other volunteers, “The people absolutely make it wonderful to come back.” Their positivity, helpfulness, and kindness are all qualities that she noted among volunteers at the food bank that make her feel that she belongs.
“Volunteering is something we do because we want to be here, not because we have to be here,” she expresses.
While volunteering, Lizzette was so efficient and quick at unpackaging food that people started noticing. Seeing her crowd, she began to teach the other volunteers her technique. The brothers at UCF Fraternity Sigma Pi all began to gather around her station and cheer her on as she speedily worked her box cutter.
“We were all racing earlier, but you beat us by at least 2 seconds!” exclaimed one of the brothers.
While she’s certainly good at unpackaging, Lizzette enjoys the morning line. She finds it especially rewarding to be part of the assembly line, loading the trays, feeding them through the sealing machine and catching the completed meals. She enjoys seeing the final product and ensuring that each box is up to Second Harvest’s high standards before adding it to a pallet to ship out to families in Central Florida facing hunger.
“The task – the actual giving back – is above all because we are able to help people and that’s what it’s about.”
Lizzette’s commitment directly impacts families in the Central Florida community.
