If you’ve ever volunteered at United Food Bank’s Volunteer Center, chances are you’ve met a member of the Odyssey crew. Maybe it was Jacob, greeting you and sparking a friendly conversation, or Brian, hard at work compressing boxes. You may also find Kaleb, usually sporting Seattle Seahawks gear, as he eagerly sweeps the warehouse floors upon your arrival.
Jacob, Kaleb and Brian are part of a longstanding team at Odyssey Services Corporation. The local social services agency organization that provides real-world work experience to individuals with special needs, helping them to feel empowered and assert their independence.
Odyssey has been a familiar and valued part of United Food Bank’s warehouse for the past nine years. Working with their designated job coach, Gary Jantzen, alongside United Food Bank staff and volunteers, they gain hands-on experience in the daily operations of a warehouse. Three mornings each week, the crew arrives ready to work. They operate equipment safely, work together as a team and interact with neighbors during food distributions. It is hard work, but for this eager team, it is rewarding to help the community with their specific abilities.
“Well, I am not really a morning person, but I still wake up to come here…We love it here,” shared Jacob, one of the original Odyssey volunteers.
Brian has been a dedicated part of the United Food Bank warehouse for the past eight years. Quieter than the rest of the crew, he is typically found crushing cardboard boxes in the back of the warehouse. Over the years, he has become the official compactor expert. If you ask him how to operate the compactor, he’ll light up and teach you everything there is to know.
Volunteering with his ‘food bank family’ has become more than a daily responsibility. Brian has expressed that he enjoys his daily work so much that he wants to continue working until the day he dies.
Over the years, Odyssey volunteers have been exposed to hard work and dedication at United Food Bank, which has opened doors to future careers in grocery stores and other warehouses. They bring the skills they learned and developed at United Food Bank into their daily lives.
But for the past six years, Jantzen has had a front-row seat to the Odyssey volunteers, including Jacob, Kaleb, and Brian, in their element. Life hasn’t always been easy for them. So, seeing them learn new skills, grow more confident and discover a passion for giving back to their community has been an emotional and rewarding experience for him.
“They get to see the full circle of the food coming in and the food going out to the people who need it,” shared Janzen.
He added, “I would do it for nothing to help these guys and help people.”
Volunteering is about more than completing a job. In their own words, Odyssey’s work at United Food Bank is about “using our abilities to help people.” And for the thousands of families United Food Bank serves, those abilities make a lasting impact every single day, whether it is sweeping the warehouse floors or bringing carts of food out to neighbors’ cars.
At United Food Bank, volunteers are welcomed for what they bring, if they have the determination and passion to help their local community. The Odyssey crew’s story is a testament to the fact that everyone has something valuable to contribute, and anyone can go out there and do some good. To learn more about the different volunteer opportunities available to you, visit our website at unitedfoodbank.org/volunteer.
Communications Specialist
ifleck@unitedfoodbank.org