Gail, Patricia, and Mary have dedicated every Monday to preparing and serving lunch at St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall since September 2021.
Initially, the trio started volunteering at St. Vincent’s with their parish, Saint Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, which volunteered for lunch one Monday a month. They then took it upon themselves to join our volunteer crew every other Monday as well.
Mary views the opportunity as a time to connect with others.
“For two whole years, we didn't have community because everything had been shut down,” Mary said. “This is a great community that gives us something to do and keeps us busy.”
Gail echoed Mary’s sentiment, noting that in the world today, people aren’t as connected as they once were.
However, the three women contribute to a sense of community every time they volunteer at St. Vincent’s.
“It’s good for our clients to see the consistent faces because then they build community also,” said Courtney Schriever, Basic Needs Salt Lake’s Volunteer Coordinator. “Our clients can count on them being here.”
CCS staff can count on the trio being in the kitchen every Monday. They can also count on them to offer wholehearted support any time there’s need to be filled across all of CCS’ departments.
The women and their parish have gone above and beyond to provide donations of hats, gloves, socks, and other necessities for Basic Needs Salt Lake. They've also rallied the troops at their parish and provided hundreds of Pantry Packs for Bridging the Gap in Ogden.
“When they see a need, they just jump in,” Schriever said. “They’re the kind of people that I could tell we’re out of hats and they’ll show up with hats. They’re just people we can count on.”
Thank you Gail, Patricia, and Mary for your hard work and support of CCS’ work of providing help and creating hope in our community.
Click here to learn more about how you can volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall.