Orange County Branch Newsletter

July 2017

ASCE OC YMF - Community Outreach

Volunteer at OC Food Bank


By: Andrew Lam

Volunteering at the Orange County Food Bank event was no short of excitement, heartwarming, and feeling privileged for the chance to aid the community. It all started on a warm Saturday morning, where not only ASCE representatives but other organizations, came to give their time for the event. Volunteers from all age groups; students, parents and their children, and even seniors gathered, ready to participate. As the clock struck eleven, everyone proceeded inside the massive warehouse. Gathered around our event head coordinator, Andre Gaithe, as he quickly explained the game plan, everyone listened and gazed upon the towering mountains of food in the background. Andre informed us that the Food Bank helps “distribute food to charities, including churches, senior centers, shelters, community centers, and social services.” Those charities feed seniors on low income, individuals with unemployment, disabilities, and homeless persons.

The volunteers were then divided into groups to help in assembling boxes, gathering food, and packaging the food into boxes. At the end of the event, everyone applauded as Andre thanked the volunteers and announced that we all helped packaged well over two thousand boxes. Overall, it was a successfully well-organized event. Andre did great at coordinating with his team and the volunteers. Everyone worked well together and communicated efficiently.

After the event, there were a few communication preparations worth noticing to keep in mind for other similar events in the future. One of which was the tardiness of the attendees. For our participants to arrive on-time, it is worth to send a reminder such as an email or text message on the same day of the event in case someone missed the Eventbrite reminder. Another preparation worth noticing was attendee expectancy. Regardless the number of sign-ups, it always seems to be fewer people showing up to the event. Similar to attendee tardiness, one improvement for this could be to share contact information between the appointed lead person and the participants. Everyone would know who to contact before and upon arrival, and during the event. The lead person would, in turn, better expect the number of attendees.

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