CLE Foodbank

It's been a challenging week to say the least. But participating in an event at CLE Foodbank last evening definitely helped put things in perspective and made me count my blessings! Things could be much worse, and I am seriously fortunate to have a roof over my head, food on the table, and the money and resources to purchase my basic needs.

It's easy to get caught up in the daily drama and sucked into life stressers but when you take a step back, and bam! it hits you. You have an experience like volunteering at the CLE Foodbank that really helps you gain perspective about the important things in life. I was invited to join in on an evening of brainstorming and collaboration at the foodbank to form their first ever Young Professionals Group. I am tremendously excited to be a part of the opportunity to meet other like-minded YPs and volunteer for a good cause. Thanks Julie for getting me involved!

Anywho, I have participated in several canned food drives for the CLE Foodbank and even attended their previous fundraising event at Market Under Glass, but I'll be honest...I had never been to their facility before, and was utterly blown away by the volume, need, generosity and sense of community that hits you as soon as you cross through the doors. This saying displayed on their wall sums it up pretty welll:

Grain by grain, a loaf.
stone by stone, a castle.

We first took a tour of the facility and it was absolutely gigantic! They turn over their super-sized Costco-esque storage units in their warehouse within 2-3 weeks. Believe it!

The CLE Foodbank serves on average 12,000 meals a day during the summer. Pretty staggering to think of how greatly hunger is impacting our community. 1/3 of its recipients are children. Hearing those statistics surely grabs your attention and makes you stop and think.

 I was joined by other CLE YPs who also believe in the CLE Foodbank's  mission. We spent an hour or so working in the warehouse unpackaging bulk corn into smaller size bags to distribute to families for the next day The time flew by as we bonded over CLE, volunteering, work, and even blogging. I was thrilled that I finally got to meet two fellow Twitter and blogging CLE gal pals-- Jen (WhyCLE) and Amanda (ClueIntoCleveland) who were also on board. It was such a pleasure to finally get to hear their witty comments and fun stories I so often find myself reading on their blogs. It made the experience all the more better by sharing it with new friends (in real life).

Katie, Jen (WhyCLE), Julie, Amanda (ClueIntoCleveland)
Keepin it corny!

After bagging up the corn in the warehouse we headed into a productive and equally goofy creative brainstorming session. CLE Foodbank does such tremendous things for people in our community and they have an assortment of volunteer opportunities. It's about getting young people like you and me more involved with their wonderful mission! I'll will keep you posted with developing details but drop me a line if you're interested in volunteering and meeting other cool young CLE peeps. Happy almost Friday, and count your blessings!