The South Texas Food Bank urged residents to step up to serve as volunteers in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. The food bank hosted a two-day event on January 15 and 16 to accommodate any community member or group looking for an opportunity to give back on such a remarkable occasion.
Since 2013, The South Texas Food Bank has hosted the annual volunteer event that honors Dr. King’s legacy and gives the community an opportunity to renew their own personal vows of civism through the service to others and to engage in a dialogue that promotes the advancement of community goals. Volunteers had the opportunity to donate their time to the cause of the hungry and the poor, joining hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country in volunteer service. They helped sort and bag groceries that will be distributed to our elderly neighbors in the CSFP Program.
Alma Boubel, CEO of the South Texas Food Bank, noted that this volunteer event has become a tradition at the food bank.
“What started as a four-hour event in 2013 has now become a two-day event with dozens of individuals and groups signing-up to volunteer and garnering local media coverage,” she said. “I look forward to it growing in the future and becoming a volunteer opportunity that goes beyond the walls of the food bank and becomes a big community event against hunger.”
This year the food bank was blessed with over 100 volunteers. Among the several groups that volunteered were: Concentrix, AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps, Blessed Sacrament School, Laredo Job Corps, and Check N Go.
Over the two-day volunteer period, volunteers shared a sense of pride and fulfillment in giving back in honor of Dr. King.
“Volunteering on MLK Day of Service is an honor, as we are able to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy by joining hand-in-hand to give back to our community, as MLK envisioned,” noted one of the volunteers from the Concentrix team.