Back to (normal?)
What a great time we had returning to Calvary Church in Charlotte, NC for a (mostly!) conventional packing event last weekend, where more than 250 volunteers created more than 100,000 meals for hungry people in Nicaragua and in our local area!
Our packing event at Calvary was not completely “normal,” as we used our socially-distanced packing model which allowed for a total of 8 “pods” of volunteers per shift. People signed up as family units (or in groups that had already been exposed to one another), so no section contained more than six people, and there were jobs for individuals and smaller families as well. Many Calvary members signed up but we were also able to eventually open signups to those on the SWH email list; many people had the opportunity to take part.
All volunteers wore face coverings, hairnets, and gloves, and individuals did their best to remain socially-distanced from those not in their groups and be respectful of others. We skipped our normal video training and went old-school, demonstrating in person how to use the new packing configuration, and watched the SWH Intro Video on big screens in the packing room itself. Obviously with this new arrangement, things went a little slower than normal, but we were still able to pack 101,952 meals on Saturday. With two more packing events at churches over the next couple weeks, we hope to add between 100,000 and 175,000 more meals to that March running total. We love our SWH Impact Days, but usually are only able to pack between 10,000 and 15,000 meals on those Saturdays—so it is exciting to add so many meals to help hungry people!
We are very grateful to be slowly (and carefully) returning to larger packing events, and hope this trend continues past this month. We will also be hosting SWH Impact Days down in Waxhaw again soon (likely in April)—so watch for signups on our social media channels and here on the website. And if your church, business, or other group is interested in hosting its own packing event, please contact info@servantswithaheart.org.