BELLAIRE • MEMORIAL • RIVER OAKS • TANGLEWOOD • WEST UNIVERSITY

Meet you at the Food Bank

By Berkley Matthews, age 17 | July 27, 2021

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AMONG THE HEROES Berkley Matthews, a rising senior at Memorial High School, has been inspired by fellow volunteers at the Houston Food Bank. (Photo: Natalie Matthews)

In the middle of Covid-19, I wanted a way to assist my community. I volunteered at the Houston Food Bank with friends one morning and found that I really enjoyed giving back to those in need. After receiving an email from the Food Bank asking for feedback on my experience, I noticed a link to the Student Heroes application. The Houston Food Bank Student Heroes program is a high school community-service group aimed towards giving students a leadership position within the Food Bank. I opened the link and applied. After being interviewed, I was accepted.

I was required to complete a minimum of 50 service hours in three months. I spent about 30 of those hours in the carousel. The carousel is my favorite volunteer area. The room is just so neat. There is so much going on but in such an organized manner. This is where I answered questions that the volunteers had, took out the trash and recycling, made boxes, moved the food and beverage pallets into the volunteer space, and organized the items based on their category.

I met the most amazing people from all around the Houston area. One man named Mr. Tom is a true inspiration. He volunteers nearly every single day at the Food Bank. In fact, he has missed only a collective two weeks out of the past 12 years! All of the Student Heroes are so friendly, and it is so fun to get to know everyone. The people volunteering alongside me made achieving 50 hours a piece of cake. Through assisting the volunteers, I’ve noticed my love for communicating with others. It has inspired me to become a student tutor and, in the future, a teacher!

I have just recently begun my second session. I am aiming for a minimum of 100 hours in order to receive the Presidential Service Award. I highly advise you to put aside some time and spend it at the Houston Food Bank. If you cannot donate your time, you can also donate canned goods. I look forward to meeting volunteers like you.

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