My donation is one behalf of the memory of Joann Harmon who worked with low income women at the PHASE program, UA, to help them get jobs. I would like it to go to single Mom Scholars Program.
I volunteer in several areas at ICS and I have seen the positive impact we make on people’s lives every day. Working in The Job Resource Center, we help with job skills and finding long term employment for our clients. Delivering Mobile Meals two days a week, I see the impact it makes in helping clients to remain independent as well as the value of someone checking on them ever day. Providing business help enables us to help others with their business issues like insurance or medical issues that are often confusing and lengthy. Once a month Saturday Produce giveaways help provide additional food to the community without prior registration or restrictions. Serving on The Management Volunteer Board helps us to deal with pertinent issues affecting our hundreds of volunteers as well as exploring new ideas in our never ending quest to discover “what’s next” for our great ICS organization. - John Y.
I love the amazing amount of help ICS offers to our community!! have been our church's representative at their Faith Council meetings and always walk away in awe of everything they do! So well run!
I am a volunteer in the capacity of Transportation for those who need rides to doctors appointments, shopping, physical therapy, and such. I have met a wide variety of individuals and everyone of them are so grateful for this service!
ALL of the ICS workers (paid staff and volunteers) are compassionate, kind, and friendly...an amazing group of humans!! ❤️❤️❤️
As a front desk volunteer for the past six years, I hear the cry for help on a regular basis. As such, my motive is that feel good feeling of being able to say "Yes, we can help".
In a perfect world, we would assist all those in need and a positive mind set is what we hope to project.
A memorable experience for me was the "Gifts of Love" Christmas event. MY family and I adopted, (for gift giving) a single mother of four. The oldest child, 12 yrs. was in and out of the hospital for blood transfusions. Unable to find a bone marrow donor, the mother pursued her options. An educated woman, she had to leave her job to be with her family. She and the other children stayed many nights with her son in the hospital. My family and I were able to meet with the family in the hospital room to deliver our gifts. Through all the grief in his young life, that little boy was so joyful and appreciative of our gifts and our presence.
That to me is the essence of the goal of ICS.
Bernie Garcia
ICS is advertising for volunteers! If they would relax some of their rigid rules, they might have more volunteers!
My wife and I volunteered for ics 4 months! We provided transportation to clients, shopping, dr. Appointments, etc! We have very giving hearts, and would take clients out to eat, on shopping trips, did not count milage for eating out, and we were told, that was not allowed! We were not allowed to interact with clients on our own time, outside of volunteering for ics (could not become friends with them). Ics does provide services to the community, however, without some of their restrictions, so much more benefit could be provided! If you want to be controlled, ics is the place to volunteer!!!
I have volunteered in three states/5 cities over the last 15 years and ICS is my favorite volunteer position. They appreciate ALL of my contributions. I am able to volunteer when ever it is convenient for me in whatever area my talents are most useful.
I am so proud to be a part of ICS! Compassion and caring is seen everyday through the staff and volunteers. The organization has grown over the three years I have been a board member and I know it is because of the committment and dedication of all at ICS to our community. The food bank supports so many of our folks in the community. In my daily job, I am a Director of Quality at a hospital in Tucson. The high level of quality care by ICS for our community is commendable!
I began volunteering with my wife six years ago following our retirement. Not ones to sit around, we found ICS to be the perfect match for us. For me, I began as a Mobile Meals driver - a sub - as we are here only 6 months a year. But, what joy I found in doing this! So, I also became a driver for Doctors appointments for those in need. Again, the joy and appreciation of those in need of this service provided by ICS was wonderful. Additionally, we help with the Food Bank through donations to provide the much needed assistance to those families served by ICS, without which many (increasing yearly) would go without. What a wonderful organization ICS is and I'm proud to be a small part.
Six years ago my husband and I were looking for a way to "give back" to our new community. As new volunteers to ICS, we found the organization offered many choices of how we could do that, including driving seniors to appointments, delivering meals, friendly calls, working in the food bank, sponsoring needy families at holiday time, or serving on committees. We're richer for all the experiences. We know that ICS uses our donated money wisely, and we've watched the organization grow and serve more people as our community needs expanded. We travel for six months each summer. We have yet to find an organization elsewhere with the programs, caliber, and professional leadership that ICS has. Like the seniors and disadvantaged people in the community, we're lucky to have found ICS.
I have been volunteering with ICS for the past few years. Every week, I grocery shop for a "shut-in" widowed woman. She is adorable. While she calls me her "angel", I can honestly say that I get more out of the experience on a personal satisfaction level than I could ever do for her. On few occasions, I also am a sub driver for their Mobile Meals program. WOW! Very eye-opening and humbling! I have delivered to all aspects of need and all socio-economic levels. ICS is an amazing organization! I am so proud to be associated with them!
I volunteer answering the phones at the front desk for ICS. When I started six years ago, we received 20 or 30 calls for help each morning. Now with the very tough times we face we receive up to 300 calls each morning. Our fellow citizens are desparate for help - shelter, utility bills, food, help with IDs and gas vouchers so they can look for work. We are providing much more help than ever before, and our resources to do so have increased quite a lot. Still the needs are even greater. I feel blessed that I can help so many through what ICS does for those in need.
As a Board Member I have seen the careful planning and stewardship of this organization. I have also seen how they very effectively use the donated resources to meet the many needs of seniors and others who have a real immediate need for their services. They are also a very effective organization in enabling city wide religious organizations be involved in their community in a caring way.
I've volunteered with ICS for the past two years as a committee member. I am proud to be involved with such a well-managed nonprofit organization that plays a vital role in Tucson. I see a high level of commitment from staff and volunteers as well as from ICS's faith partners throughout the community. I'm also a donor.
I take two elderly sisters who live in my neighborhood grocery shopping every Sunday. It takes a couple of hours but their positive outlook on life and the wonderful stories they tell about their careers and life in Tucson make it a total joy. They always tell me how much they appreciate my service and show it by donating food to our Food Bank. I understand that I am one of 85 Interfaith Community Services volunteers providing transportation and shopping assistance to seniors and disabled Pima County residents. It does my heart good to think of the difference we're making in our community!
Being involved with ICS for nearly 5 years as a member of two committees has allowed me to see the inside workings of ICS. Witnessing the passion of the volunteers for their desire to meet the needs of individuals and families and to see the "greatfulness" of needs met and despair of those whose needs are unfulfilled has motivated me to help ICS meet as many needs as our volunteers are able to handle.
I've seen the dollars raised go the the recepients because ICS utilizes their volunteers so well. The structure of gathering volunteer labor from many faith communities is a real winner for everyone involved: both the giver and the receiver!
When I retired I was looking for something meaningful to do with my time and I heard about the need for volunteers at the ICS Food Bank and decided to give it a try. I found that everyone who volunteers here are dedicated to helping others and trying to make the clients lives a little better through what we do here. The volunteers and paid staff of ICS make this world a better place through what they do for humanity.
In my role as Coordinator for the ICS Food Bank operation, I have been highly impressed at the dedication and focus of the corps of volunteers involved in the operation itself. These volunteers have been consistently effective in distributing food to the client base, demonstrating dependability and compassionate sensitivity to the client base and responsiveness to the needs of the operation. More generally, I have observed that the need for proper food for the hungry population is in fact a virtually limitless demand and that ICS is philosophically well-positioned to help meet that demand.
Interfaith Community Services (ICS) has more than doubled the output of its Food Bank operation in the last four years. Staffed by caring, compassionate volunteers ICS serves up to 90 clients per day out of a meager 400 square foot facility. The Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving more than 400 families received a special holiday gift box. Last week a community food drive raised more than 25,000 pounds of food for the operation. Our clients are so grateful for helping them make it through tough times.