Havre community service organizations honor their volunteers

The Salvation Army-Havre Service Center, Feed My Sheep Community Soup Kitchen and Havre Food Bank will be coming together to honor and show appreciation for their volunteers and the community businesses that support them.

Tuesday at 6 p.m., in St. Jude Parish Center, these three service organizations will hold their Annual Dinner and Volunteer Appreciation. The dinner is free and everyone in the community is invited to join.

The dinner is planned to correspond with National Volunteer Week which runs from April 15 to 21.

The Salvation Army-Havre Service Center is an organization that helps people in emergency situations; They have services for many types of situations such as assistance for fire and disaster victims, eviction prevention, and emergency utilities assistance. They also offer referrals to other agencies.

"Salvation Army Service Center exists to help people in their greatest time of need," The Salvation Army-Havre Service Center pamphlet states.

Two other organizations that serve to help the community of Havre are Feed My Sheep Community Soup Kitchen and Havre Food Bank.

Feed My Sheep Community Soup Kitchen is open six days a week, Monday-Saturday, serving lunch.

They also hand out wrapped sandwiches and pizza so people can take home a second meal.

Anyone can come to eat at the soup kitchen. If someone comes who is intoxicated they may not be allowed in, but they will still be given food at the door.

The soup kitchen has also recently won an Environmental Hero award from Recycle Hi-Line for their efforts to recycle and not leave any waste. Any produce that goes bad is sent home with soup kitchen volunteer Cari Frahm who feeds it to her chickens at her business, Frahm Poultry.

Havre Food Bank provides food to individuals, families, seniors and the homeless who are at or below 200 percent of the poverty level. The food bank provides them with a food box every other month and once a week they can come in and pick up food directly from the food bank. Anyone needing their services can come in and fill out an application and provide verification.

These three organizations provide important services for the Havre community and when it comes to volunteers, Trina Crawford, Social Services Director of The Salvation Army-Havre Service Center, Janet Tams, director of Feed My Sheep Community Soup Kitchen, and Sam Nimmick of the Havre Food Bank all said.

They agree that they couldn't provide the services they do without volunteers and supportive businesses.

"If it wasn't for our volunteers, we couldn't do what we do," Crawford said.

"We (the soup kitchen) wouldn't be open (without volunteers)," Nimmick added.

Volunteers have stories of their own.

"I am getting my life back on track," said Salvation Army volunteer Alysha Rodriguez, who has been volunteering for about a month, "I am giving back to the community who helped me."

Rodriguez, who helps answer phones, clean up and organize donations, said it is a good learning experience to help others.

"I am giving back for the first time; it feels good," she said.

Noreen Aageson, a volunteer at the soup kitchen, said that volunteering makes her feel good. She and fellow soup kitchen volunteer Sonya VandeSandt, who have both been volunteering for 25 years, come into Havre about once a week to volunteer.

"It helps us appreciate what we have at home," VandeSandt said."

Another soup kitchen volunteer, Curtis Onco, said he volunteers because he wants to give back.

"I love the people out there; we just have fun," he said.

Crawford said it is the relationship between everyone ­- staff, clients, and volunteers - who make The Salvation Army work.

"They are my family," Crawford said.

Tams said she feels that the Havre community is very supportive of the service organizaitions. The soup kitchen receives their produce through a donation from Gary & Leo's Fresh Foods five days a week, and they also get food donations from Grateful Bread, Domino's, Pizza Hut and Dottie Wilson from The Infinity Bake Shoppe.

Crawford said they get damaged and discontinued goods donated from Walmart.

Tams added that she recently received a call from Havre's Kentucky Fried Chicken and they would like to start donating some food to the soup kitchen soon.

This year the volunteer dinner will not only honor those who help the organizations, but will also put a spotlight on The Salvation Army-Havre Center's new Reintegration in Society Program.

This voluntary program is the first program of it's kind in any Salvation Army in the nation, and it focuses on first helping participants focus on sobriety and daily goals. Then once they have a handle on their sobriety, they can start the next step.

"Sobriety is not going to be as big an issue (once they get a handle on it) so they can start house and job hunting," said Crawford.

The featured speaker at the dinner will be Jason Keeling, an RISP participant who is a year sober and now has a job and his own apartment.

Crawford, Tams and Nimmick said they are always looking for more volunteers as well as donations for their organizations. Anyone who is interested in volunteering or donating is welcome to contact them or stop by The Salvation Army, food bank or soup kitchen. For the food bank, it is best to come shortly before 10 a.m. or after 10:30.

Crawford would like to encourage any community members to join the dinner and help show appreciation for the volunteers as well as see what these organizations have been doing this past year. People can RSVP at 265-6411, ext. 105.