“Mission: Possible” focuses on our volunteers, without whom our mission of creating a hunger-free community would be impossible! 

Special blog post by Diane Zapata, Director of Volunteer Services.

Did you know that April was Volunteer Appreciation Month?  It’s a busy time as we try to show gratitude to the many volunteers who play a large part in making the Food Bank’s work possible.  Every year we ask staff to nominate the “best of the best” in volunteering for recognition by the Junior League of San Jose, where Second Harvest sponsors a table to honor our selected VIP volunteers. We’d like to introduce the 2018 honorees:

Scott Feldman (left) volunteers in our finance department to help reconcile variances efficiently and effectively. He has shared his knowledge of best practices to improve accuracy, timeliness of reporting and productivity gains. Scott then shared that he is an iPEC certified coach, offering his expertise and professional and entrepreneurial experience to help several leaders at the food bank.  He is a strong partner in the fight to end hunger, using his skills to unlock creativity and impact.

Ray Imperio (middle) is highly recognizable at our San Carlos facility, serving as a Team Leader that trains and assists volunteers.  Ray helps us prepare for our food sorts so that volunteers can be more effective and efficient. You can see his smiling face at least several days a week if not more; he is a recognizable presence in his blue team leader t-shirt.  He also travels all the way from over the Sunol grade – quite the commute for a volunteer!

Steve Norris (right) is an exceptionally committed and long term supporter of the Food Bank.  He wears many hats! He recently retired from his job and has chosen to leverage his newly open schedule to double-down his volunteering and help our North San Jose facility staff when we most need volunteer Team Leaders. Steve has also branched out and supported our development and marketing teams by using his gear to take photos for our publications and by joining our Speakers Bureau, representing Second Harvest to clubs, foundations, and service organizations in the South Bay Area.

Three cheers for these stupendous members of our community! They make the fight against hunger achievable!