by Matt Cheng
Before I started working at Our Daily Bread, I had the worst anxiety. I knew of the legacy of ODB and the fact that they had never closed their doors in 32 years both astounded and intimidated me. I was terrified that I would become known as the Project SERVE member who worked at ODB when they closed the soup kitchen for a day. But since coming here and meeting all the wonderful people who work and volunteer here, I’ve relaxed and my anxiety has abated. I never realized just how many people want to come in and volunteer, as I write this, ODB is currently fully booked with volunteers until April! Even on days when the weather is horrible and volunteers cancel, the Christopher Place men come down and save the day. I love these men, they are some of the nicest and funniest guys you could ever meet and make me feel even more welcome. Working at ODB has been an absolute delight and I love it here, volunteers and co-workers are already asking me what I plan to do after this year of service ends and I honestly don’t like thinking about it because I don’t want this year to end.
Sorry for writing so much, but I just realized that I never told you guys what I actually do at Our Daily Bread, well my official title is Project SERVE AmeriCorps program Assistant/Volunteer Coordinator, I know it’s a mouthful. Primarily, I assist Kim as a volunteer coordinator. This involves a myriad of tasks, but my main ones are managing/assisting the volunteers once they arrive, making sure things run smoothly during the lunch shift, and answering messages left on our voicemail; that phone never stops ringing! In addition to assisting Kim, I also go on food runs to Whole Foods to pick up their donations and write articles for the ODB newsletter. Starting next week I will also be helping out at the front desk in the afternoons, so keep your fingers crossed for me!