By: Lindy Obach
DALC EL Teacher
Almost three years ago, I was in a meeting with staff from Community Action Dickinson when they mentioned they needed volunteer help packing food boxes for their Commodity Supplemental Food Program. The Community Action Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) works to improve the health of persons over 60 years or older by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA commodity foods. When I heard this, I immediately piped up and said, “I know some people who would love to help out!”
Since that meeting, the adult English Language learners at the DALC have met up at the warehouse behind the House of Manna multiple times to assemble, pack, and organize food boxes for Community Action.
Students from all over the world, each with varying levels of English proficiency, join in.
One student volunteer is Olha H., new to Dickinson this year. Olha likes volunteering because “it is a noble and selfless act. I want to do something useful for society.”
Another is Yessica P., who has lived in Dickinson many years and attends both English and Citizenship classes. Yessica says, “I like helping pack food boxes because it brings a smile to the recipient’s face.”
Tom Solberg, Client Services Director for Community Action, says, “the students from the Dickinson Adult Learning Center can be proud of their contribution to the CSFP. Their efforts directly assist not only the households in this program, but also support the Community Action Partnership team members to complete distribution efficiently, which allows them to fulfill their other case management duties of assisting clients with their needs.”
Alexa Lang, Case Manager and Commodities Coordinator, says this about our volunteerism: “I am beyond grateful to Lindy and the students at the Adult Learning Center. Their assistance has been invaluable to our packing process. Not only are they kind and considerate when volunteering, but extremely efficient and hardworking while dedicating their time and effort to our program.”
On average, we pack 300 boxes each time, which means 150 families in our area benefit from the work the students do. In between packing, much chatting and laughing happens. The DALC students love working with their hands while also knowing they are helping the community they now call home.
The collaboration between the DALC and Community Action has been wonderful in generosity and spirit, and we are especially thankful that Alexa orders pizza as a “thank you” after all that packing! I am so proud of our students who give up precious class time to give back to Dickinson. As the famous line from the smash musical, Hamilton, goes, “Immigrants, we get the job done!”