CRC® Volunteer News - September 30, 2026 | | |
Dear CRC Volunteer,
September is Hunger Action Month, and we’re celebrating the people who put that idea into practice every day.
At CRC, orange is our advocacy color for the month, and many of our volunteers have worn it to show their support. But putting on an orange shirt isn’t the action that makes a difference—it’s what that shirt represents. It represents the many ways our volunteers turn their commitment into meaningful support for our community.
It looks like volunteers filling pantry shelves, sorting and rescuing food, young people speaking up about food insecurity, and Resale Store volunteers helping turn donated items into support for our neighbors.
Scroll down to see just a few of the many ways our volunteers are putting orange into action.
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Warmly,
Sara Rosenbaum, CVA
CRC Volunteer Program Manager
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Food Pantry Volunteers Put Hunger Action into Practice
More than 150 different volunteers generously give their time in our Food Pantry each month, helping ensure our clients receive a warm welcome along with the groceries they need.
On Wednesday, September 23, the entire team came together for a training covering food safety, updated and ongoing policies, and organizational updates from CEO John Van Cleef. It was a great opportunity to bring our Food Pantry volunteer community together, share important information, and make sure everyone is prepared to support our clients well.
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Youth Ambassadors Raise Awareness
CRC’s Youth Ambassador Program kicked off its new year with its first meeting on Thursday, September 24th. During Hunger Action Month, our teens are already putting their voices into action—wearing orange and raising awareness about hunger in our community while learning how they can connect CRC’s mission to their peers.
The group discussed the value of youth leadership and explored opportunities to table at upcoming events, volunteer at fundraisers and our Holiday Baskets program, and participate in a separate third-party fundraising partnership with Pumpkins for Good. We’re excited to see where their voices, energy, and ideas take them this year!
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Resale Store Supports Our Mission
The Resale Store volunteer team continues to thrive, providing countless hours of support by receiving, sorting, pricing, and staging donations. Every item sold helps fund CRC’s wraparound services, including programs that provide direct support to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity.
If you shopped at one of our stores in September, you may have noticed the orange display at the front of the store. It was a fun way to connect our Resale Store mission to Hunger Action Month while giving shoppers an easy way to show their support—by wearing orange!
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Congratulations to CRC's Volunteer of the Month, Chris MacArthur!
In a month that highlights Hunger Action, Chris is an especially fitting choice for Volunteer of the Month. An Encinitas local with a heart for his community, Chris, known as 'tall Chris' to clients and volunteers, is a friendly and familiar face to our Food Pantry clients each week—and someone our volunteer leads know they can count on.
One of our lead volunteers shared, “Chris is always there to help us out on Mondays without being scheduled and without expecting any accolades. If anyone, volunteers or clients, needs help carrying boxes filled with food or shopping, or just about anything, Chris is there to help. His help and humility are appreciated by all, especially the leads.”
Other staff and volunteers describe him as "kind, and always smiling."
And Chris has made an impact in another way this month: he was the one who suggested that CRC purchase orange T-shirts for our volunteer team, helping bring a little more Hunger Action spirit to the food pantry and elsewhere. So if you’re sporting one of our new shirts, be sure to say thank you!
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CEO Blog: Healing After Trauma
In his latest blog, our CEO John Van Cleef shares Elena’s story and how our Trauma Recovery Center helps people who have experienced violence and trauma find safety, rebuild confidence and move forward.
| | Holiday Baskets Scheduling Begins in October | |
CRC has begun limited scheduling of volunteers for our 44th Holiday Baskets, coming up on Saturday, December 5th. We’ll begin opening registration to more volunteers later in October. To learn more or express your interest in volunteering, please reach out to our HB Scheduling Lead Volunteer.
We’re excited for another great year and look forward to bringing our community together to make the holidays a little brighter for local families!
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Are you part of a group of 5-15 looking for a way to partner in CRC's mission? There are currently Food Pantry and Resale Store group opportunities available on some late afternoons and weekends. Tasks may include deep cleaning, sorting, or stocking items. A clean Food Pantry provides a more dignified shopping experience for our clients. And a clean store means happy customers!
| | Learn More from the CRC Newsletters! | |
This newsletter primarily highlights the work that our volunteers are doing and provides training and updates that apply to the volunteering experience. The CRC newsletters focus on client stories, CRC in the news, mission updates, and fundraising opportunities. If you would like to receive that newsletter, you can sign up for it here.
You can also check out the most current newsletter, full of great information, below!
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If you have a good story of volunteering, please share with me at volunteer@crcncc.org. I can include those stories in future newsletters as an encouragement to our team.
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Community Resource Center
(760) 230-6501| info@crcncc.org | CRCNCC.org
CRC and the CRC logo are registered trademarks of Community Resource Center.
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