Volunteer to provide free meals to those in need this Thanksgiving!

Community News
51

Dear Michel,

Thank you so much for all of your work and help this Thanksgiving. Please extend my thank you and appreciation to everyone involved in preparing and delivering the food. The people who delivered the food were beautiful. The packaging was beautiful. The amount of food was beyond generous. The only suggestion that I have if you decide to do this again is to sacrifice quantity for quality. I understand the constraints of budgets. Not suggesting doing anything outside of the budget; but, using the same budget to purchase higher quality but less foods, which would lower the number of meals. You would then donate fewer but higher quality meals.

Again, please accept my deepest gratitude to you and your staff.

Marlene Regis

| MichelThouati dispatcher
November 17 |

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Friends and neighbors of HelpBerkeley, members, and volunteers,

Since receiving the Bay Area Jefferson Award for Public Service, the volunteers at HelpBerkeley.org have delivered close to 200,000 free meals so far this year!

Over Thanksgiving and the winter holidays we plan on delivering close to 10,000 servings to those who need them. We need your help this season—and, in general, on an ongoing basis :grinning:. Can you volunteer with us? Do you know anyone who could volunteer with us?

For the Thanksgiving and Holiday runs, we need help, in 3-hour shifts, with:

  • On Sunday 11/21 from 10:00am to 3:00pm, food preppers and packers
  • On Monday 11/22 from 10:00am until we’re done, food preppers and packers
  • On Wednesday 11/24 from 11:00am to 3:00pm, pickup managers to direct drivers and load vehicles
  • On Wednesday 11/24 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm, drivers to deliver food in Berkeley/Albany
  • On Sun and Mon 12/12, 12/13, 12/19 and 12/20: food preppers and packers
  • On Thu 12/24, pickup managers and drivers

On an ongoing basis, we need food logistics volunteers, helpline responders, drivers, ops managers and workflow dispatchers. All food prep occurs in basketball-court-like industrial kitchen with 30-foot ceilings and industrial ventilation. All in-person activities require masks and temperature tests.

If you can help us, for a single opportunity, for a few events, or for a longer time:

Thanks so much for your generosity in this holiday season! And please help us spread the word about these rewarding volunteer opportunities! Teens ages 14+ are welcome to volunteer, as well as younger kids with a parent.