San Francisco, CA USA
I really appreciated my experience at Glide! After a brief orientation the staff wasted no time in dressing the volunteers in plastic aprons and gloves and putting us to work. I was the lucky lady on gumbo duty and was in charge of pouring a ladle of gumbo onto the trays in the dinner assembly line. One of my favorite parts of the experience was interacting with the enthusiastic staff while they fed us slices of peach and eagerly helped switch out the empty food bins with new ones. I also loved the music playing in the cafeteria that kept the volunteers singing and staying positive and added energy to the busy room. I really appreciate the glide policy where individuals receive meal tickets without having to answer any questions about their identity or why they were there-- this allowed for an accepting organization that served all different kinds of people. My only concern was that the kitchen could get very hectic at times with gumbo sloshing and rice flying-- I'm not sure how to tighten up an already extremely organized assembly line but i worry that someone could slip or get burned.
The Great!
- I've seen the results of this organization in... the amount of people served and receiving a healthy meal, the happy staff (always encouraging and high energy) and the way it turned around my day as a volunteer.
- The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were... busy and happy!
Ways to make it better!
- My experience would have been better if... I could have seen or learned about other Glide programs so I could have a range of reasons to come back and volunteer.