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Hello Volunteers! Happy Spring!
This April at Nourishing Hope was one for the books! We celebrated our 55th birthday, honored our incredible volunteers during National Volunteer Month, and had a blast working and connecting with our neighbors.
Thank you all for supporting us this month! We're excited to keep the momentum going in May. Keep reading for updates, fun photos, story spotlights, and shifts that could use and extra hand or two.
| | VOLUNTEER ANNOUNCEMENTS & UPDATES | | VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION MONTH | |
Thank you so much for driving us to a record-breaking fiscal year for volunteering!
You’ve helped take our organization to new heights, and we’re so glad that during Volunteer Appreciation Month, we had the chance to celebrate all of the hard work and positive energy you bring. We hope you enjoyed the festivities during National Volunteer Week! If you weren’t able to join us, don’t worry. There will be more celebrations to come!
Take a moment to enjoy our Volunteer Milestones photo collage, celebrating your incredible contributions.
| | | As a reminder, all Nourishing Hope locations will be closed from Saturday, May 24th - Monday, May 26th, for Memorial Day. We will then resume normal hours, with warehouses reopening on Tuesday, May 27th, and pantries reopening on Wednesday, May 28th. | | | JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT SPANISH CLASS! | |
We’re also excited to announce that we will be offering another in-person Spanish class! This session is open to all volunteers — whether it’s your first time attending or you’ve joined us before, everyone is welcome.
This class will cover the basics of Spanish, including the alphabet, pronouns, common words used at the pantry, and more. There will be plenty of opportunities to practice speaking and improve your skills.
Join us at Headquarters, 1716 W Hubbard St, on Tuesday, May 20, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for this interactive and fun session!
Register here for the Spanish class. Please email Julia Mendoza Varela or our Volunteers inbox if you have any questions.
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HOME DELIVERY DISTRIBUTION @ 1440 S. INDIANA Ave.
Come distribute groceries at a high-rise senior building in the South Loop! Our upcoming shifts will take place on April 16 and April 23 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. This shift will require some heavy lifting.
Parking is available at 1510 S. Indiana Ave.
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OLM DISTRIBUTION @ LA CASA NORTE

Come help clients pick up their orders at El Mercadito! Starting Thursday, May 15, Nourishing Hope will be introducing and Online Market Distribution at the La Casa Norte shift on the third Thursday of each month from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
| | | EXPAND YOUR IMPACT – VOLUNTEER AT EL MERCADITO! | |
Sign up for a shift at El Mercadito and help us meet the growing needs of our neighbors.
Tasks include distributing food, stocking shelves, unloading deliveries, and sorting donations.
We offer two volunteer shifts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday:
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El Mercadito Morning Set Up: 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
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El Mercadito Distribution: 11:30 a.m – 3:30 p.m.
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HOME DELIVERY SOUTH & WEST PREP AND PACKING
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Starting on Friday, April 11, we’re introducing Home Delivery South & West Prep and Home Delivery South & West Packing volunteer shifts at HQ (1716 W. Hubbard St.).
Join us for:
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Home Delivery South & West Prep: every 1st, 3rd, and 4th Tuesday of the month & every 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Friday of the month, 2 – 4 p.m.
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Home Delivery South & West Packing: every 1st, 3rd, and 4th Wednesday of the month & every 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Saturday of the month, 9 a.m. to noon
| | | ONLINE MARKET HEAVY LIFTING | |
Skip the gym and help prepare for our Online Market Distribution at the Hub on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.!
Part of the shift will involve working in the cooler/freezer.
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Help us load and unload vans, build and wrap pallets and shelve boxes, move pallets around using pallet jacks, and keep the warehouse running.
Most boxes weigh 50 lbs or less.
| | | TABLING EVENTS ARE INCREASING! | |
As the temperature increases, so do our tabling events! Shoutout to the Ambassadors representing Nourishing Hope around the city. 🙌
We’ve been expanding our partnership with the West Town Chamber of Commerce by attending their bi-weekly Volunteering Club, hosted at miscellaneous venues around the West Town/Wicker Park area.
In addition to Volunteering Club, we’ve been to…
- Seoul Spice’s Chicago grand opening!
- Schuba’s Vintage Market
- North Center’s Hop N Stop
We're looking forward to our next event at Do Division Street Fest on Sunday, June 1. Stop by and see us!
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THANK YOU FOR SUCCESSFUL INVENTORY DAYS!
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Huge thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s Inventory Days a success! Your energy, organizational skills, and good humor made it all go smoothly—and we truly couldn’t have done it without you.
And of course, what would Inventory Days be without a little fun? We loved seeing the “DO NOT INVENTORY” stickers in action—especially when they ended up on people instead of boxes. A much-needed reminder that our volunteers are priceless and not for counting!
Check out some of our favorite moments below. Thank you for everything—you make even the most logistical of days feel joyful and full of heart.
| | | ON THE BLOG: A WEEKLY RITUAL FOR HOPE | Check out our recent blog post: highlighting Gabby Jarosz, one of our incredible volunteers. | | |
STAFF SPOTLIGHT — Zach Riddle, Food Pantry Coordinator
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Zach Riddle joined Nourishing Hope as a Pantry Coordinator in July of 2024. Check below to learn more about Zach and what he's enjoyed about working here!
Hi everyone! My name is Zach, I am originally from San Antonio, Texas, and have lived in Chicago for about five years now.
After working more than a decade as a chef in restaurants, I am currently going back to school to complete a Bachelor's in Social Work, and working at Nourishing Hope since last summer has provided an invaluable introduction to mission-driven work.
In particular, I enjoy the collaborative, supportive, and friendly work environment, as well as getting to interact with clients and volunteers. In my free time, I enjoy gardening, basketball, reading, and spending time with my partner, Sheridan!
| | | VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT — JULIE E. | |
This month, we are featuring The Hub and Home Delivery volunteer Julie E. as our volunteer spotlight!
I started volunteering at Nourishing Hope in the summer of 2023 after retiring from full-time teaching. I knew I wanted to get involved in my community and found Nourishing Hope a perfect fit.
My favorite course (and the only one I still teach) is Living Sustainable Lives. One of our topics focuses on our food system. Despite growing enough food to meet the caloric needs of every person on earth, too many people do not have access to sufficient quantities of food. Two critical ways to alleviate food insecurity are better distribution and reduced waste, which is what we do at Nourishing Hope!
Nourishing Hope's mission is what brought me here as a volunteer, and it is the staff and other volunteers who make my time volunteering joyful, fun, and fulfilling. I recall asking Helen, a regular volunteer, hundreds of questions on my first day, and she did not hesitate to answer every one of them. Helen is representative of the volunteers and staff with whom I work.
We are a supportive and welcoming community. I look forward to every shift. Being an ambassador seemed like a logical next step. It will give me the opportunity to encourage others to join our community and work together to help our neighbors in need flourish.
Thank you, Julie, for your amazing support and dedication! We appreciate you so much!
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Shoutout to heavy lifters Mike S. and Ben J. The two of them completed various tasks (including building some pallets for internal orders) and stayed a few minutes longer to sweep and put a few pallets away.
Shoutout to Katie V., who stepped in to make reminder calls to clients! We are grateful to have volunteers who are willing to do whatever is needed.
Shout out to volunteers Carrie W. and Kokou M. for shelving 7 carts of frozen during their gleaning shift. Thank you both for going above and beyond!
Shoutout to El Mercadito volunteer Tom P., who stays all day every week when he volunteers! Tom is always so kind and an extremely hard worker in all he does, whether restocking or choice shopping.
Shoutout to Betty M., our youngest regular HDN volunteer! Betty joins us every Wednesday at the Hub and is a rockstar volunteer – she's recently learned how to wrap pallets! 💪 Go, Betty, Go!
| | | (open the email in your browser below to see the full list!) | | |
Brian A.
Okwudili A.
Sharon A.
Nikita A.
Lindsey A.
Nathan B.
Hannah F.
Annie G.
Maxine H.
Natalie H.
Arul J.
Apurva K.
Joel K.
Megan K.
Adrian M.
Linda M.
Shane M.
jasna m.
Jodi N.
Becky P.
Ruth R.
Leah R.
Marlene R.
Sara S.
Madelyn S.
Sasha T.
Rachel W.
Robert W.
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Daniel B.
Annie B.
Sandra B.
Tanya B.
Veronica B.
Jamie E.
Dylan F.
Steven G.
Julie H.
Astri H.
Katie K.
Hannah K.
Kenny K.
Esmeralda L.
Quinn M.
Brian M.
Henry M.
Trisha M.
Jennie O.
Sara P.
Nicholas R.
Molly R.
Orly S.
Mary S.
Julia S.
Ellie V.
Brian W.
Meg W.
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Philip C.
Cashel C.
Lynelle C.
Thomas D.
Loraine E.
Emily E.
Lisa F.
Eddie G.
Molly H.
Janice J.
Jonathan K.
Madelyn K.
Anna K.
Julia L.
Chris M.
Susan M.
Johana M.
Sam N.
Lisa O.
Alex P.
Rita R.
James R.
Erica S.
John S.
Jose S.
Natalie W.
Lauren W.
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