By Jennifer Crain
Every week Michaela Winkley picks up her son, Gabe, and his girlfriend, Amber Penrod, at Tumwater High School. The three pile into Winkley’s car and drive to the Homeless Backpacks house in Lacey where they transfer heavy bags of food to the car. Then they drive back to Bush Middle School and Tumwater High School to deliver them. The food provides relief for hungry teens over the weekend.
Winkley says she and her son started delivering food in September so Gabe could have a peer-oriented opportunity to fulfill his school’s required volunteer hours.
“The thought that he was helping kids that have less than he did, I just really liked that concept,” says Winkley.
The weekly commitment to delivering food has built in a habit of volunteering and given them a deeper understanding of homelessness.
For families who’d like to do the same, there are dozens of organizations with opportunities for parents and teens to give back. Here are a few to get you started:
Community Kitchen
Serving food at a few of the more than 100,000 meals served annually at the Community Kitchen is a great way for teens and parents to help out and connect over a tough issue.
Olympia resident Liz Frey says she and her daughter, Ana, volunteer at the community kitchen with Ana’s youth group.
“The first time we did this she talked a lot about the people who came in for food, and how hard it must be for them.” says Frey. “She had a lot of questions and we had a good conversation about homelessness and how it happens, and what might be done about it.”
The kitchen accepts volunteers any day of the week but families should call to schedule and, ideally, set up a regular work shift. Call Marsha Hubbard Burch at (360) 349-2808 or (360) 956-3462 to volunteer.
Thurston County Food Bank
Judy Jones, volunteer coordinator with the food bank, says teens and parents can volunteer on the second and fourth Wednesdays of every month, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. to help with distribution. A variety of jobs are available, such as sorting food and working on the floor directly with customers. Volunteers may also assemble food bags to send out to satellite sites at 18 locations in the community. Volunteer opportunities are flexible. Following an orientation, families can volunteer once or set up a regular shift.
To sign up, contact Jones at (360) 352-8597 x103, or email her at volunteers@thurstoncountyfoodbank.org.
Camp Quixote
If carving out an evening to work on-site is tricky, consider preparing and dropping off a meal for the residents of Camp Quixote. Resident Advocate Julie Montgomery says meals for about 25 people, such as sandwiches or burritos, are always welcome.
“Camp Quixote receives many generous donations of food and clothing during the holidays, but donations tend to decline after the New Year,” she says. “Residents are always very appreciative of a donated meal, particularly towards the end of the month when many are running low on their food assistance benefits.”
You can also check the group’s Facebook page for needed items (socks, for instance) and drop them at First Christian Church, where the group is currently living.
YWCA/The Other Bank
While you’re in the gathering spirit, pick up some personal hygiene products, toiletries and cleaning supplies and donate them to The Other Bank at the YWCA. The program serves 20,000 people per year in Thurston County, providing supplies that food stamps don’t cover.
Resource Coordinator Rachel Thomson says parents and teens can come in to inventory, sort, repackage and stock shelves with products on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays or help with distribution on Wednesdays from 1:00 – 3:30 p.m. Volunteers can also put in a couple of hours to assemble some of the 1,000 hygiene kits they provide for the FORKids Program every month. To volunteer, fill out an application form online, visit their Web site or contact Thomson at rthomson@ywcaofolympia.org to arrange volunteer hours ahead of time.
GRuB (Garden-Raised Bounty)
Tegan Hurley, volunteer coordinator for GRuB, says volunteer opportunities at the urban farm kick off in March and go through the end of the harvest. Teens and parents can help with GRuB’s Kitchen Garden Project, a program that constructs raised beds for low-income families and individuals. Volunteers can also help on the farm and with the group’s pilot project with Olympia High School. The first volunteer orientation is on February 20 from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Sign up or look for alternate dates on their volunteer page.
Hands On Children’s Museum
Hands On Children’s Museum isn’t just a fun place for parents and children to learn and play together but a great place for them to get involved and give back – together! The Museum has a wide variety of volunteer opportunities that are great for groups and families. From our monthly Free Friday Night and evening education programs to the quarterly parent child themed adventure nights – parents and teens can enjoy being kids together while making a difference. For a complete list of volunteer opportunities visit the Museum’s website at www.hocm.org/volunteer.
Workdays at Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve
Parents and teens can grab a set of work gloves and bond over a day of site repairs, trail maintenance and prairie restoration at three upcoming work parties at Mima Mounds, hosted by the Department of Natural Resources. The prairie, which is studded with rare mima mound landforms, will get a facilities facelift on three Saturdays this spring: February 23, March 30 and April 20 from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Contact Birdie Davenport at (360) 902-1434 or Tanner Scrivens at (360) 791-1368 to sign up.
City of Olympia Volunteers in Parks Program
City of Olympia employee Mike Baker says teens and parents are welcome at their Saturday work parties, held most weeks at area parks. Volunteers help with habitat restoration such as pulling ivy, native plantings, trail maintenance, mulching or repainting park benches. They provide tools, gloves and even light refreshments.
Olympia resident Mimi Arnett says she and her daughter, Linnaea, have pulled ivy and planted trees with the city. “It is great to see the seedlings become mature trees over time and realize that you are building legacy,” she says.
The group will be working at Watershed Park on February 23 and at Garfield Nature Trail on March 2, both from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. See their Web site for upcoming work parties.
Thrifty Thurston highlights inexpensive family fun in Thurston County. The weekly series focuses on family-friendly activities throughout our community. If you have a suggestion for a post, send us a note at submit@thurstontalk.com. For more events and to learn what’s happening in Olympia and the surrounding area, click here.
