When a survey was circulated to the employees at SNAP earlier this year asking how they would like to observe the agency’s 50th anniversary, one answer came back resoundingly clear:
“Serve our community.”
As a result of that questionnaire, SNAP staff spent the morning of Friday, July 15 addressing five different service projects throughout the Spokane area. Afterward, employees gathered at Franklin Park in north Spokane for a 50th anniversary picnic that was open to the public.
“I think this says a lot about our team,” said SNAP CEO Julie Honekamp. “We had many different options when it came to observing this landmark year, but our employees decided to make a positive difference in the neighborhoods where they work, live and play. It was an amazing day.”
SNAP service projects on July 15 included: Cleaning up the Perry District for the upcoming South Perry Street Fair; neighborhood cleanup and garbage pickup in the West Central community; helping with a donut sale and visiting with seniors at Maplewood Gardens; sorting bins of frozen green beans at Second Harvest of the Inland Northwest; and participating in games and activities with kids from Northeast Youth Center at Franklin Park.
At Second Harvest, a total of 16 SNAPPERS repackaged nearly 3,000 pounds of frozen green beans, an effort that was not lost on Emily Kanally, Second Harvest Volunteer Center manager.
“It was wonderful to have these SNAP volunteers come in and give their time in our volunteer center,” Kanally said. “Partnering up with other nonprofits to help make a difference in our community is important to us and we appreciate their time.”
Amber Johnson, SNAP Mission Support director, said the project at Second Harvest served as a valuable bonding experience as co-workers challenged each other to see how many beans could be packaged in the allotted time.
“It was actually really fun,” Amber said. “There was a lot of good-natured ribbing. For me, it was neat to see the different groups of staff working together who don’t normally get to do that.”
At Maplewood Gardens, SNAPPERS played Wii golf with residents, chatted and passed along information about the agency’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman program.
“It was great just to interact with the residents,” said Pauline Posey of the LTCO program. “When we left, they said, ‘Please come back anytime.’”
Michelle Christie, chair of the SNAP Staff Council that coordinated the volunteer day, said she has received “amazing feedback” from employees since July 15. There has already been talk of scheduling similar volunteer projects on the annual SNAP calendar.
“I think it just goes to show that SNAP employees have that servant heart,” Michelle said.
This year’s picnic received a generous boost from Umpqua Bank which provided complimentary ice cream and Washington Trust Bank which cooked up free hamburgers and hot dogs. Lucy Lepinski, SNAP chief operating officer, said she noticed a difference from previous years when employees showed up this year at Franklin Park following their volunteer shifts.
“I just saw how positive staff felt when they arrived at the picnic,” Lucy said. “There was a different mood. I could tell we all felt good about the difference we’d made. There was just so much positive energy.”
