Meet Chelsea Forbes-Terry, Volunteer Services Coordinator
What does a typical day at the Food Bank look like for you?
My day starts out with finding out the incoming volunteer projects for the day and reviewing the needs of our Operations team. At 9am I’m greeted with our first volunteer group of the day and then one-two more volunteer groups spread throughout the workday. I get the honor of leading all of our volunteers through the warehouse and telling the story and history of our Food Bank and our Volunteer Program. I get to spend the rest of my day coordinating with groups and individuals interested in coming to volunteer and helping to ensure everyone has an amazing experience.
What’s your favorite thing about working at the Food Bank?
My favorite thing about working at the Food Bank is all the wonderful and interesting people I get to meet every day who are just as passionate and concerned about the growing population of those struggling with hunger as we are. When I’m not surrounded by people from outside the Food Bank, I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by the people who work inside the Food Bank and who are amongst the most hardworking and dedicated people I have ever met.
Have you been personally impacted by your experience at the Food Bank?
All the time! I can be out and about in the city wearing my Food Bank gear and almost always someone will come up to me and comment on the great experience they had volunteering here with their family or company, or just by themselves. Seeing people in the community excited about helping others is the foundation of who I am and why I love working in Volunteer Services here at the Food Bank.
What motivates you to do what you do?
It’s not the what – it’s the who! Volunteers motivate me every day because their commitment to ending the fight against hunger is what keeps our operations moving. Each day I am able to remind myself through introducing volunteers to San Francisco-Marin Food Bank of what we do, how we do it, and why it’s so important. To me volunteerism means doing good things for good people, and the fact that over 40,000 people a year give up time from their busy lives to create a positive impact for all in our community is the ultimate form of motivation.
What’s something people might not know about you?
I’m an obsessive NFL fan and an amateur chef who geeks out every time I step foot in Sur La Table.
Tell us your best joke.
What lives in apples and is an avid reader? A bookworm
For more on Chelsea’s work, visit the Volunteer home page here.
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