Thank you to Cathy Endicott, Dmitry Vilner, Karen Caston, Susan Portillos, John Craver and Dave Nowak for their volunteering time in June!  It was a very busy night and the recent post office pick up event made for a lot of extra canned goods going out into the market place and the need for a ton of sorting.  Dave, Dmitry and Karen were sorting in the warehouse.  Dave was diligent about checking ingredients on each product to ensure each was healthy as Metro Caring does not distribute items with too much sugar. John did a lot of stocking of pantry shelves and filling the shelves in the refrigerator. Cathy and Susan worked in the marketplace as customer service and keeping shelves neat.  People were loading their carts like crazy!

We would love to see you at a White and Steele Metro Caring night - the last Tuesday of each month!

Thank you to Susan Portillos and Keith Olivera (and Kyle) for their volunteering time in May!  Keith and Kyle were in the freezer and refrigerator all night, keeping the bins loaded which was a chore along with moving everything around in the freezer.  They had a pallet of eggs (which were a hot item!) and Kyle was digging out and loading them as fast as they were taking them off the shelves.  Keith and Kyle were good sports about freezing - that freezer is cold!  Susan was in the marketplace on the warm side of the glass helping the shoppers unload what Keith and Kyle loaded.  It was a busy night for sure!

Interested in getting involved? We would love to see you on the last Tuesday of the month from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm!

Thank you to Jim Meseck, Savvi Neufer, Adam Goldstein (with Kacey), and Susan Portillos (with Mike and Jeremy) for their volunteering time in January! They all worked in the warehouse sorting produce, rearranging racks, boxes, bins, and stocking shelves. There was a ton of fresh lettuce our volunteers had to sort through, getting rid of wilted leaves and composting.  They also filled newspaper bags with partial rolls of toilet paper donated by airlines.  Kacey and Susan did check in part way through the evening, helping get the families shopping and checked in.  Jeremy and Kacey need volunteer hours for school so they were able to log 2.5 hours each.  There were 43 families that went through the marketplace - a super busy night.  What a great start to White and Steele's 4th year of volunteering at Metro Caring!

Interested in joining us? White and Steele has a group at Metro Caring the last Tuesday of each month!

Thank you to Adam Goldstein (as well as Laura, Kate, Kacey and Kyle), John Craver, Keith Olivera and Susan and Mike Portillos for their volunteering time in October.  Adam and his crew worked in the warehouse sorting a lot of canned goods, dried goods and produce.  The produce sorting is so important so that it can get out on the shelves for shoppers before it goes bad.  Unfortunately sorting means composting portions which our volunteers did a lot of!  Laura brought her foreign exchange student Kate with her who has to get a lot of volunteer hours while she is here. Kate will be submitting an application to become a volunteer for Metro Caring on Tuesday nights until she leaves in June!  John and Keith ended up in the freezer most of the night stocking freezer items as they fly off the shelves all night long.  Mike and Susan were in the marketplace assisting shoppers in the first section (which includes produce), constantly shifting the stock on the shelves to make each shopper feel like the first with fully stocked and neat shelves.  One larger family walked out with 279 pounds of food!  With the new Metro Caring system of “take what you need” the only thing they have to limit each family on is frozen meats due to quantity.

"My kids and I had a good time volunteering, and it was rewarding to help the community in such a direct way." -Adam Goldstein

"John Craver and I spent two hours in the freezer. Cold, but it feels warm to do a good deed! This place is amazing. Come join us!" -Keith Olivera

It was a great night!  Come and join us for volunteering on Tuesday, November 22.  This is the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, which is a super fun night to help with.  Come check it out!

Thank you to Fritz Klann, Susan Portillos and Misty Faulkenberry for their volunteer time in September!  Misty and Susan worked in the marketplace assisting shoppers and keeping the shelves neat and stocked. Fritz luckily dressed warmly enough to keep the refrigerator and freezer sections stocked all night.

There are some exciting changes in the marketplace of Metro Caring! Shoppers no longer have to keep to an item limit in a section - it is a “take what you need” marketplace now. This means constant stocking of shelves and coolers all evening which means volunteers are needed more than ever!

Not only is this change in policy difficult for the shoppers to grasp but the volunteers need to remember also not to limit anyone. We encourage them to take what they need but keep in mind to keep it at about a week’s worth of groceries. Not only do they have food in abundance to be able to do this, Metro Caring now has enough money to supplement the donations by purchasing the more preferred items. They had all shoppers do a survey last month as to their most desirable foods in the marketplace, giving them a list to choose from putting in order their preference. They will use these surveys to decide what to purchase.

"It was so fun to see people’s reactions to this change, especially those that come and shop every month. They still have suggested numbers of items in each section on a shopping list at this time, and one individual said to me, "no, we like to follow the rules, it says 5 items".  I explained these were now suggestions and encouraged him to take what he needed. He was still hesitant but did take another peanut butter! Another gentleman said “you are the second person who has told me that, are you sure?” With a big smile on his face!" -Susan Portillos

"It is amazing to see a food bank that is striving to provide an experience like shopping in a regular grocery store." -Fritz Klann

"It was actually a lot of fun being able to help others. I know some of them were embarrassed and uncomfortable given the situation but I was able to talk with a few people and kind of ease the level of discomfort. I was thankful for the opportunity and look forward to it next month. Susan was also a great person to have walk me through my first time there and she definitely has a passion to help others and it is very inspiring." -Misty Faulkenberry

It was a great night! White and Steele's next volunteering night is Tuesday, October 25, 2016.  This is a great opportunity to give back to the community in an uplifting way. Come check it out!

Rachel Jennings, Tracy Zuckett and Susan Portillos participated in the Youth Opportunity Foundation’s annual fundraiser Mustache4Cash/Color4Kidz. This fundraiser benefits Denver Urban Scholars and The Bridge Project, who provide mentoring, tutoring, and support for local youth, raising money through social events. Each October men and women in the professional community grow mustaches and sport colored streaks in their hair to raise money and awareness. Rachel Jennings led the White and Steele team, which raised $1,046. This year the event raised $14,000 overall.