It's National Volunteer Week!
We are celebrating our wonderful volunteers this week ... who make our communities stronger by
This week, we want to say a big THANK YOU to all who serve alongside us, working to Do the Most Good in our community. Every person we serve is blessed in some way by the time and dedication of volunteers.
Whether you serve with us all year through, during the Christmas season, or if you are a new volunteer who has stepped up to help during the current Covid-19 crisis, thank you for helping us make our community a place of hope.
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: MICHIGAN CITY
The Salvation Army of Michigan City is fortunate to have hundreds of volunteers come through our door every year from every walk of life.
Some of our volunteers are also donors, who share their time, talent and treasure to help others in every way possible. Other volunteers are those who have been in need in the past who now want to give to others who need are struggling. And some are just good folks from our community who want to lend a helping hand.
As former “Volunteers of the Year,” some of our favorite volunteers are the generous and hardworking employees of Central States Manufacturing, a company on Tryon Road, right here in Michigan City.
According to Tonya Cook, HR Generalist, employees of Central States Manufacturing logged over 300 hours of giving back time, encouraged by their employer to use “on-the-clock” time to help out in their community, as each employee is given eight hours of “giving back time” per year.
“Central States is a company that is driven by a vision, a mission and a set of values that inspires everything we do,” Cook said. “As Central States employees, we live our mission and values on a daily basis. Our employees understand that we are members of communities and are committed to helping in any way we can.”
Over the past year, Central States employees have helped in The Salvation Army in several ways – spending much of their volunteer time ringing a bell at a Red Kettle during the annual Christmas Campaign, or helping to unload food deliveries in the food pantry.
Since the COVID-19 crisis began affecting the Michigan City community in mid-March, The Salvation Army has relied heavily on volunteers from Central States to ensure the food pantry continued operations as the number of clients needing food more than tripled.
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We already operated on a small staff,” said Major Becky Simmons of The Salvation Army. “So when the number of families coming to our food pantry rose from 120 in a week to more than 400 in a week, we really needed some help. We knew we could rely on our great friends at Central States Manufacturing, and they have definitely stepped up to the plate. These folks are a blessing to our community and we are so grateful that they have continued their generosity and have helped us feed the hungry, homeless and unemployed in our community.”
Simmons further said that the quality of Central States volunteers is one of the reasons she is grateful for the partnership, adding that these volunteers are hardworking, polite, courteous and always a pleasure to have around. Cook said the employees at Central States Manufacturing are always eager to volunteer – working to not only make their company successful, but their community, as well.
And the Central States staff is always eager to volunteer, Cook said, adding that they enjoy partnering with The Salvation Army because of a shared set of values.
“The Salvation Army is a wonderful organization that works tirelessly in our community in so many ways,” Cook said. “They impact families suffering from hunger, addition, violence, homelessness and more through the prism of Christian love. Central States is also grounded in faith. As Central States employees, we live our mission and values on a daily basis in order to continue being an industry leader in all aspects of our business. Our people are our greatest asset. As such, we understand that every family is touched in some way by these problems, so helping The Salvation Army helps almost every member of our community.”