2013 Super Service Challenge

Wherever we work, whatever we do, we all want to make an impact!

Second Helpings relies on 700 regular volunteers to fight hunger in our community.

So, after offering to help with their most urgent needs, we were asked if it was possible to help setup for their annual Fall Volunteer Recognition Party... which was only 2 days away.

Mary Parks, Manager of Volunteer Services, had not heard back from another group of volunteers who had previously offered to help, but who were checking their schedules to see if they could all be available.

Mary considered it a blessing that we had contacted her when we did, and thanked us for our willingness to come on such short notice. She said it was very reassuring to know that we would be there to help set up, because she did not know how she would have been able to do it all on her own.

Their Mission:Transforming Lives through the Power of Food

For the Volunteers

About The Event

Mary Parks, Manager of Volunteer Services: “The Fall Volunteer Recognition Event is one of the most important celebrations of the year, when we can give our volunteers some TLC for all their dedication to our mission.

Since volunteers are not “paid” for their time, we feel it is important to let them know how much we value the gift of their dedication, and to recognize it publicly. Volunteers who reach various service milestones receive a specific gift for that level of service, and all volunteers receive a small gift.

Additionally, we choose a “Volunteer of the Month” whose name is engraved on a plaque near our entrance. We have a similar plaque for volunteers who reach 1000 hours.

Given that a full-time employee works approximately 2000 hours per year, this volunteer gift is equivalent to ½ year of work!! In fact, last year our volunteers donated over 42,000 hours of time—the equivalent of 21 full-time staff members!”

Specific tasks, to transform the cafeteria into a welcoming party atmosphere, included:• washing and sanitizing cafeteria tables and chairs • sweeping and mopping floors• assembling gifts• setting up cocktail tables with linens, decor, and candles• decorating the cafeteria with lighting • hanging signage around the facility to direct guests to

parking, food, bathrooms, etc. • setting up a few fun activities such as a photo booth and a

raffle table• arranging the rewards table with gifts for the volunteers• and assisting with the set-up of food & beverage areas.

Mary Parks, Manager of Volunteer Services: “By coming out to serve us and set up the party, you gave our volunteers the rare opportunity to take a break from their labors and enjoy an event that was prepared for them—instead of by them!

Second Helpings relies on volunteers to fuel our mission of preparing over 3,800 meals each day for hunger relief. Thus, recognizing service is an essential retention tool for engaging and maintaining a qualified volunteer force.”

What we Accomplished

Mary Parks, Manager of Volunteer Services: “We would benefit by investing it in the development of new training technologies for our volunteers.

As we continue to expand towards our goal of providing 6,000 meals per day, we will rely increasingly on our volunteers to increase their skill levels and assume roles of greater responsibility across the mission.

Developing a web-based portal of training videos for our volunteers will positively impact the well-being of Second Helpings by reducing expenses, saving time, and increasing volunteer ownership.

Additionally, the use of emerging technologies as a platform for these videos will attract and retain the interest of generations of upcoming volunteers.

Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to pursue this important goal!”

How Would You Benefit from Winning a Portion

of the Prize Money?

We need your help eliminating hunger and empowering people. Would you like to do a Food Drive for Second Helpings to collect pasta, spice or rice? You can go to

www.secondhepings.org . There's a toolkit to help you get started and create a food drive in your community, or you can contact Betsy Whitmore to make arrangements and check on what they need most at betsy@secondhelpings.org .

To access the Second Helpings Food Drive Toolkit: http://www.secondhelpings.org/files/Second%20Helpings%20Food%20Drive%20Kit.pdf

Or make a monetary donation: It takes only about $1 for Second Helpings to prepare and deliver a meal -- every little bit helps. What your support can do to fight hunger and eliminate poverty:

• $6,000 fully funds one student's culinary job training

• $3,675 funds 3,500 meals - 1 day of our Hunger Relief Program

• $140 pays for one day of training for a student

• $105 buys 100 meals for children in a daycare or afterschool program

Defender Direct: Security Customer Experience Leaders

Pictured from left to right:Virgie Hailey

Ashley BoltonDavid DiMartino

Cindy NieseAnita Hendricks

Thank you for giving us this opportunity to serve!

In the future: we plan on hosting some food drives to help support Second Helpings and their mission...along with other volunteering possibilities. They have a constant need for

rice and pasta, large cans of tomato products, herbs & spices, and condiments.

You may continue if you would like to see & hear more about Second

Helpings’ Food Rescue, Hunger Relief, & Job Training Programs.

Staff at Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center asked kids in their after school program a simple question – if they could have just one thing to help them do better in school, what would it be?

Their overwhelming response: Dinner.

It didn’t take long to understand that if a child misses dinner, it’s likely that his parents missed theirs too.

On April 29th, 1998, Second Helpings was born; an organization that rescues unused food and turns it into meals and jobs for the needy.

They accomplish this through 3 of their programs: Food Rescue, Hunger Relief, & Job Training.• Today, 16% of households in Indiana are hungry or at risk

of being hungry.• Did you know that Americans throw away an average of a

pound of food a day per person? That’s 27% of our available food supply going right into the trash!

Their Mission:Transforming Lives through the Power of Food

More about:

Food Rescue Second Helpings accepts donations and collects perishable and overstocked food from places like wholesalers, grocery stores, restaurants, caterers, bakeries and hotels.

This is all done in a safe, efficient manner in order to stop useable food from going to waste. They take resources that nobody else wanted and use them to fulfill the most fundamental need that people can’t live without – to be nourished with healthy food.

• Much of the food rescued is overstocked items from stores, products with imperfect packaging or perishable foods that are close to that SELL BY date you see on the package.

• What happens to the 4H vegetables from the Indiana State Fair? We rescue them! 580 lbs. of prize winning veggies came to us that day.

• 1998 – 2011: 15,000,000 lbs. of food rescued.

Their Mission:Transforming Lives through the Power of Food

Hunger ReliefEach day, the staff and about 20 volunteers turn the unused food into over 3,500 hot, nutritious meals for hungry children, adults, and seniors who may otherwise not get a hot meal that day. The meals are distributed free of charge through 70 local service agencies in the Greater Indianapolis area...including school programs, shelters, day cares, neighborhood centers and assisted living facilities.

Thanks to their staff & volunteers, Second Helpings has grown beyond anyone’s expectations, and currently turns over 100,000 lbs of rescued food into 50,000 meals every month.

• Seniors at William Penn Commons, no longer need to choose between buying food and paying for prescriptions.

• Some places that receive meals are Wheeler Mission, the Julian Center and the after school programs of several Boys and Girls Clubs locations in Indianapolis.

• About half of the meals that are delivered go to children.

• 150 pounds of pasta is used every day to create meals.

• No one buys food for the Hunger Relief kitchen. It’s all rescued or donated.

• Each meal costs $1.05. Including what it takes to rescue the food, prepare it, deliver it, AND the cost of giving any extra food, like canned goods they don’t need, to a food pantry.

Their Mission:Transforming Lives through the Power of Food

Second Helpings uses a portion of the rescued food in order to offer a FREE Culinary Job Training program. This intensive, 10-week course is recognized as a “Program of Excellence" by the American Culinary Federation. It is designed to transform lives by training unemployed, underemployed, and disadvantaged adults for meaningful careers in the culinary arts...helping to eliminate hunger at its source.

Many adults struggle in poverty and low-wage jobs because they lack the basic skills that would allow them to earn more and build a career. Thanks to the intense, day-to-day courses and a variety of lessons taught by local visiting chefs; more than 500 adults have graduated from this program and are now working in Central Indiana as cooks, executive chefs, business owners and culinary instructors. • Chef DeWitt Jackson is a graduate of the Culinary Job Training program. He’s now the Executive Chef of the Indianapolis Colts. He’s a graduate of class #16.• Chef Sam Brown is the instructor for each class. He's a graduate of class #8• Students get life and job-hunting skills, including tips on managing money, stress management and how to present themselves in a job interview.• The employment rate for students after graduation is around 90% during the first 6 months.

Job Training

Their Mission:Transforming Lives through the Power of Food