Gill Hayes

My name is Gill Hayes and I’m a volunteer here at River City Food Bank. I come here once a week because I have been blessed. I have a good education; I have wonderful children; I have a wife of 53 years. I don’t have to work anymore, and I want to give back to the community some of the blessings that I’ve received. So I have been working here as a volunteer for 14 years, and for me, this is one of the jobs where you get back so much more than you give.

 

We are coming out of a recession. We have seen more people in our building needing food. Nobody should be hungry, and it’s a sad commentary perhaps on the way our government operates, but probably for many, many other reasons too. A lot of people are hurting, and nobody should have to be hungry, especially the elderly and children.

 

We have a lot of people giving. We have foundations, companies, that have opened their hearts and their pocketbooks to us, and I just feel that they are starting to see what the needs are, and we feel particularly blessed because of the great community support that we get.

 

What’s the most rewarding part of volunteering at the food bank? The hugs. The tears. The thank yous. The looks on our clients when they walk out with some food. It’s what we get back from those that we serve. That is by far the biggest thing. I’m sorry, I sort of choke up when I think of it.