Hour 60: Chiloquin Food Pantry

 ‘Wait, where’s Chiliquin?’. Good question. Chiliquin is in southern Oregon, not far from the California state line. And it is my home for the better part of 3 months. I am working as the inspector for a construction project here this summer, and I’m taking the oppurtunity to log a few volunteer hours in my temporary home. Chiloquin is a depressed town; once a center for logging, and the former home of the Klamath Tribes Indian Reservation. Timber is out and the Tribe sold the reservation back to the federal government in the 1950’s, leaving many in this small town to rely on government assistance. It didn’t take long for me to run across the local food pantry, which collects food donations and distributes to locals who receive food stamps. I joined a team of 10 or so other volunteers in the monthly effort of gathering the food into the pantry and then trading the donated food for stamps. I saw men, woman, young, old, disabled and fully abled coming in to pick up food for themselves and their families. Like my experiences in Portland, I see that you cannot make a blanket generalization to encompass all the people that are receiving assistance. 



Hauling Food Donations into the Pantry

 

Hour 57: Potluck in the Park - 21st Birthday

Today was the 21^st birthday of Potluck in the Park. 21 years and this group has never missed Sunday afternoon meal. I was fortunate to grab the last volunteer space for the day through Hands on Greater Portland. Fortunate because PITP was celebrating their anniversay with a big meal. Volunteers were working a large BBQ pit, which had been donated for the day, and more meal tickets than usual were being handed out to guests. The rain clouds broke and the potluck was held outdoors, in downtown Portland's OBryant Square.

I was able to get a spot serving up cassaroles, with my new friend Barbara. She has been volunteering with Potluck for a year now, saying that she enjoys volunteering with PITP because not only does it feed the needy, but it helps her remember that the people living on the streets are people too.  We had a good time, serving up chili mac, stir fry, and chicken pot pie. The day saw 80 volunteers serve meals to 920 guests. I saw many familiar faces on both the volunteer and guest side of the table. It felt good to not only help serve these meals to the needy, but to feel part of my community.

How to feed 900 people

Hour 51: Habitat for Humanity- N. Michigan, Part 2

This was my 3^rd time out for Habitat for Humanity, and my 2^nd time working on Leo’s house. The inside and out look a lot different than they did 3 months ago. Today a majority of my work involved dismantling the scaffolding on the exterior of the house, led by project manager Ev. Once the scaffolding was taken down the crew took a step back and looked up at the nearly finished exterior with some surprise at how far along the place has come.

Leo's Pad

 

In the afternoon Todd and I mounted some roofing above the porch. This involved some math, a circular saw, hammers and a harness. Todd, a regular at Leo’s, told me about how he is interested in becoming an electrician and that he has decided to use Habitat as a way of getting construction experience, learning about the trait, and giving back to his community.



Mind the thumb, Todd

 

Leo was also on site today. After lunch, he was telling us that this house is more than he had ever expected to have for his family of 7. He is grateful for the opportunity to own a house, something he told us he would not be able to do if not for Habitat.