Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida has an elite group of volunteers who consistently go above and beyond the role of a typical volunteer. They are called Volunteer Captains.
Captains have the experience and leadership skills to show newer volunteers how to perform the tasks of a shift. They lead projects, train new volunteers, and support warehouse operations. Captains commit to at least one shift per week and a minimum of six months.
In addition to his full-time job and frequent travel, Justin is one of the original volunteer captains at the food bank. Since 2014, he has given more than 1,000 hours of his time. Because of his busy schedule, Justin does his best to fill three shifts each month and about 100 hours a year.
“As a Volunteer Captain, I fill in and help out wherever I am needed most,” he said.
Justin has packed prepared meals, sorted donated food and more, but most of the time these days, he assembles food boxes during his shifts.
Justin makes time to fight hunger because he believes food is a basic, fundamental necessity for everyone. He also wants to be part of making the recipients’ days a little better.
“Having to deal with hunger and the stress of not knowing where your next meal is coming from is not something that anyone should have to deal with,” he said. “It is also important to me because I understand the great delight that food and a good meal can bring a person. I not only look at it as a way to provide relief to those who need it, but also hopefully a source of joy in their lives, as well.”
He first volunteered at Second Harvest through his workplace. He remembers being impressed by the well-organized donation sorting process and such a high level of productivity.
“(I saw) an incredible amount of food they were able to distribute to the community on a daily basis,” Justin recalled.
He said volunteering for Second Harvest is a “no-brainer” in his opinion.
“Folks can sign up with no additional commitment, come by for just three hours and be done by lunch if they want,” Justin explained. “In just that time, they make a real impact in their community with literal tons of food that is rescued and have some fun while doing it. I don’t know that you can find many volunteer opportunities that are better than that and feel good about yourself and the impact that you have had on your community.”
