Volunteer Spotlight - Kathy Berman

​​Kathy Berman had been part of the ONT community as a donor for years. A Certified Public Accountant, Kathy says she had always planned to do “hands-on volunteering somewhere” when she retired. Once she cut back her work hours to part time, she decided to join ONT’s volunteer team and donate her time as well. Kathy has helped out at our Wednesday meal, done customer service in the market, stocked shelves, and worked in the warehouse. These days you can find Kathy in our non-perishables stocking room on Saturdays, filling guests’ orders.
 
“I like the people I work with, the other volunteers and the guests,” Kathy says about how she enjoys coming to ONT. “I grew up poor, and we went without a lot, but we never had to worry about food, but I know there are so many people now who go without meals.”
 
The desire to be part of helping to feed her community is what keeps Kathy coming back to pack grocery bags for ONT’s guests. On those Saturdays when the alarm rings early and she wants to stay in bed, she remembers that “it’s feeding people,” and she always gets up and comes in to pack.

Once Kathy saw how things worked behind the scenes at ONT, she felt good about her decision to be a regular member of the volunteer crew and a donor.  “What amazes me about here is that the guests have a choice in food,” Kathy says. “It makes me proud. I’m proud of this place.” ONT couldn’t run without its dedicated volunteers like Kathy, and we’re proud of her too!

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