Make volunteering a family affair
By BETH BENCE REINKE
For Smart
For many people, Thanksgiving means mouth-watering smells wafting from the kitchen and the table laden with delicious foods. But the season isn’t about abundance for everyone. Many folks in York County could use a helping hand to make their holidays a little brighter.
Volunteering at Thanksgiving has become a family affair for Amy Gehly of York. For the past three years, Amy and Ted Gehly, their daughters (ages 13, 12 and 10) and Amy’s parents have helped pack potatoes for the Thanksgiving basket project at York Rescue Mission.
Amy Gehly and her mother got involved with the project when they were looking for some type of volunteer activity to do with the fifth- and sixth-graders they teach at Grace Baptist Church in York.
“A friend from church made the contact with York Rescue Mission, and we found out what kinds of things they did,” Gehly said. Packing potatoes for the food baskets was something everyone in their group could do.
Between 30 and 40 volunteers show up at the East Prospect Fire Hall, with Gehly’s family and kids from church making up about 15 of those, she said.
Several thousand pounds of potatoes are unloaded from a truck, then the volunteers count out potatoes into clear plastic bags for the food baskets.
Gehly said her daughters and the children from her church always have a good time packing the potatoes. “We have a good group of kids, so we enjoy taking them,“ she said. “We make it a fun event.”
Getting involved in a charity is something Gehly has wanted to do since her daughters have gotten older. “It’s a good idea to have them helping somebody else who is less fortunate than they are,” she said. Gehly believes that fostering thankfulness in her girls is important, especially at Thanksgiving, she said.
This year, the family will have a bit of Thanksgiving history to think about as they volunteer. “We actually got to visit the little village where the Pilgrims came over at Plymouth Rock, and we saw how hard they really had it,” Gehly said.
Volunteering at Thanksgiving helps her family to remember where our country came from and how hard they had to work back then, she said.
The potato-packing event usually takes place on a Friday night about two weekends before Thanksgiving. York Rescue Mission gives out between 1,300 and 1,600 boxes of food at Thanksgiving, said Kathy Jones, director of volunteer services.
Volunteers are needed for various steps in preparing the food baskets, she said. The mission also serves a holiday meal on Thanksgiving Day for those in need.
Where to volunteerWant to volunteer around the holidays? Here are some local agencies that need helpers:
• The Pentecostals of York Church, 1550 E. 11th Ave., York
Needs volunteers for Community Hope Dinner on Nov. 21.
Contact the Rev. Robert Pichardo at 755-7202.• York’s Helping Hand for the Homeless, 412 W. King St., York
Needs volunteers to serve lunch on Thanksgiving Day.
Contact Cynthia Kemp, director at 846-9275.• York County Food Bank, 254 W. Princess St., York
Needs volunteers to help with food baskets.
Contact Deb Eichelberger, assistant business administrator, at 846-6435, ext. 101.• Southern York County Food Pantry, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 315 N. Constitution Ave., New Freedom
Needs volunteers to deliver holiday food boxes.
Contact Ed Smith at 235-5928.• York Rescue Mission, 367 W. Market St., York
Needs volunteers for meal on Thanksgiving Day and various Thanksgiving and Christmas projects.
Contact Kathy Jones, director of volunteer services, at 845-7662, 812-8007 or 812-1692.• Calvary United Methodist Church, West Market Street and Richland Avenue, York
Needs volunteers for setting up and serving meal on Thanksgiving Day and for preparation the day before.
Contact the church office at 843-2990.
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