Jennifer is officially titled as being the Dietary Manager, but unofficially carries many other job titles. While volunteering at Friendship Trays, I volunteered alongside Jennifer the most. Jennifer is a hard working employee who takes her job very seriously. She believes that it is a human right for every individual to receive a meal each day. Her humble and selfless attitude has rubbed off on many other volunteers who have came and gone for the past five years. She comes in every morning at 7 A.M. with a positive and determined attitude. When asked how she maintains such a positive attitude on a daily basis her response was, “Thankfully I was born this way! But also, at the end of the day you either have to laugh or cry at what life throws at you, and you can’t cry all the time so just keep smiling!” Her day consists of many tasks including overlooking the kitchen, planning out different seasonal meals, and preparing meals to be catered to a local health-conscious cafe, Julia’s Cafe. She has many helpers that assist her in completely her everyday tasks, and for that she is very grateful. Jennifer loves interacting multiple people and learning new things not only about one’s background and culture, but also the different types of food that they enjoy. She also loves working with the special needs kids from the InReach program as motivating others has always brought her happiness. I connected very well with Jennifer as she welcomed me if open arms and always assisted me in getting better. Jennifer’s overall ability to work and train different people on a day to day basis was remarkable as it not only shows her passion for the organization but also the patience that she has. She states that her overall goal at Friendship Trays is to not only provide a healthy meal to individuals, but also provide support to those that need it. She believes that proper delivery of the meal should be done with a positive attitude as that attitude can reflect upon the overall experience for for the individual. “Both delivery of the meal and the food are both equally important, but most of the time the people’s attitude can determine the outcome of the overall experience.”

Kris has been consistently volunteering at Friendship Trays for the past three months. She began her time here as a temporary volunteer, but the people involved at Friendship Trays positively impacted her life wanting her to come back to volunteer more regularly. “Working here makes me feel like i get a chance to help people, and that sense of purpose is what i live for.” Kris works here alongside with her regular day to day job, but she says there are many notable differences between the people that she works with at work compared to those that are at Friendship Trays. “The people at Friendship Trays have a lot more meaning to what they do, a shared purpose purpose with a better attitude. The people I work with at my regular work for different, individual reasons.” She believes that the most important part about Friendship Trays is the common shared goal, to make a greater impact. Being able to provide people with an alternate resource to both food and assistance is a powerful tool that not everyone in this world may be blessed with. Kris’s gleaming smile and joyful attitude definitely contributes to the positive attitude that defines the organization. She is always flexible and will help out in every way she possibly can. “Whatever I can do to help is essentially my responsibility.” Her typical day as a volunteer at Friendship Trays consists of first assisting Jennifer in the side kitchen with any preparation or assembling tasks that may have to completed. Once she finishes that, she will provide a helping hand with anything that has to be done such as cooking, delivering the meal, or even washing the dishes. “Even though I work primarily in the kitchen, its plays a huge role in the overall purpose.” Without the volunteers and kitchen staff, there would be no food to be delivered. There are so many volunteers that come and go on a day to day basis. Even though each and every individual contributes to the overall cause, have consistent volunteers eases stress and saves time for those that are carrying a lot of the facilities responsibilities. Enjoying what you do also plays a huge part in the attitude that is displayed by not only Kris but many of the other regular seen volunteers. Being able to help people who you may not even know helps many feel like they are making a difference. While talking to Kris, she mentioned how she never knew that so many people in the community were this involved in bettering society. She was intrigued by the number of people that it takes to overall make all the operations successful.