Needs From: Engage UAlbany - Get Connected to Volunteer Opportunities

Our coalition that has responded so effectively to the needs of the community during the pandemic is in process of transition over the next month.  By the end of June we hope to have ended our centralized food and supply distribution out of the Boys & Girls Club, and shifted resources to community-based food access to absorb what we anticipate to be a summer of high need.   Along the way, we have been fortunate to have had resources such as the National Guard and County employees to help with our Call Center, Data Center and Distribution.  As those folks are being redeployed elsewhere, we are now in need of more volunteers over the next four weeks to ensure that we remain responsive to people seeking help.   If you have volunteers that can help us -- people in your network, board members, etc. -- please refer them to my associate Jean Churchill, who will be assuming responsibility for volunteer coordination.  Jean's email is:  jmchurchill@schenectadyfoundation.org.   We primarily need people to assist at our Call Center, and with Data Entry.  We may also need Packers in the afternoon to prepare food and supply bags for delivery the next day.  We have both morning and afternoon shifts of about 3 hours.   We operate out of the new Boys & Girls Club, which is a spacious, bright, clean and safe location with plentiful parking.  Volunteers are physically distanced, wear masks, and are supplied with hand sanitizer.

Volunteers are needed between Noon and 3 pm to pack supply bags to be distributed the following day. There is no heavy lifting involved. A supervisor will instruct volunteers as to the contents that should be in each bag. Typically, we pack one set of bags with perishable items (meats, produce) and a second set of bags with non-perishables. Perishables are kept in a refrigerated truck over-night. We anticipate packing 600 – 800 bags per day.

and other volunteers are needed:

Volunteers that have certification to operate a forklift are needed periodically, to assist in transferring product that is delivered from the Regional Food Bank to our on-site storage trucks.

We are operating out of the new Boys & Girls Club located on Education Drive in Mont Pleasant, adjacent to Mont Pleasant Middle School and Pleasant Valley Elementary. Parking is plentiful. The facility is large, enabling us to ensure that volunteer work spaces are physically distant, and operated with the safety of volunteers and staff as our priority. All volunteers are asked to wear masks, which can be provided upon request. We also have hand sanitizer, gloves and other protective measures in place to ensure safety.