Yorkville Common Pantry - June 17th, 2010

I arrived at Yorkville Common Pantry around 9:30 am on Thursday, June 17th with Hillary Zuckerberg and Lorrie Clevenger from WhyHunger.

I was feeling lots of different things - I was so excited to meet these wonderful people, but I also knew that the experience would be emotional and humbling for me.

We went up to the main office, checked in, and before we knew it, slipped into a crowd of people getting ready to volunteer for the morning. At Yorkville, 60% of the staff everyday is made up of volunteers. The amount of people that reach out is amazing, and it keeps the organization alive. The volunteers were from all over the place, some part of youth groups on mission trips, some visiting from out of town, and others that show up almost everyday.

Every single staff member that we met at Yorkville was AMAZING. These people are full of a positive energy that is completely contagious. The work that they do comes from an honest, genuine, selfless place. Gladys Ortiz, one of the staff members at Yorkville, gave us a tour of the organization and talked to us about the details surrounding the organization. She had the whole place so organized, but everyone was smiling and having a great time - she struck the perfect balance between order and fun. I can't say enough good things about her.

Yorkville is such a proactive place. Not only do they provide groceries and food for the families in the area that need it, but they provide cooking and nutrition classes as well. They are passionate about educating these people on ways to keep their families healthy by using fresh foods. Down in the kitchen, where people also wait for their groceries on Thursday and Friday mornings, there is someone taking people's blood pressures to make sure they are healthy, and there is also a lawyer that is set up to help people who may be qualified for food stamps. It is UNREAL the amount of resources this organization provides to the needy public. It's amazing.

So, if you are in the New York City area, I deeply encourage you to reach out to Yorkville Common Pantry. Find there website here. You will be so humbled, I know I was. To the three staff members I met : Stephen, Gladys, and Abigail - you are doing amazing work. Thank you so much.

Here is a little video about Yorkville:

Okay, Part 1 of tour :)

Hi everyone!

So, I am so happy to finally be giving you some insider action about what went on during the “Little Steps” Tour!

I’m going to take you through the volunteer events and show you what it was like :)

Before we do that, I wanted to write a bit about WhyHunger, the charity that I was blessed to work with throughout the week. WhyHunger is a leading advocate for innovative, community-based solutions to hunger and poverty. WhyHunger challenges society to confront these problems by advancing models that create self-reliance, economic justice, and equal access to nutritious and affordable food.

So, my task throughout the week was to visit some of the local charities that fuel WhyHunger’s mission. Let me tell you, it was one of the greatest experiences. I was so blown away by the people that day in, day out, dedicate hours upon hours of work to HELPING others. All of the people at WhyHunger unselfishly give their time to lifting the smaller, local organizations up for everyone to be seen. It’s truly amazing what these people do.

Me with Hillary Zuckerberg, Director of Artists

Against Hunger & Poverty

With that said, I created a little video that I will post that stars the lovely Brooke Smith (Director of Grassroots Action Network), and Hillary Zuckerberg (Director of Artists Against Hunger & Poverty - the person I worked closest with). It gives them a little chance to explain to you (through their own words) what each of them do for WhyHunger.