By Tom Nguyen
Volunteers at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church live for D-Day.
Since 1990, Share has been helping Floridians save on groceries while hoping to inspire local residents to feed the soul of their communities through volunteerism.
D-Day is Distribution Day for the Share program, a national non-profit organization that began operating at Blessed Trinity in 2002, and volunteers gathered this June to celebrate both a two-year anniversary and the spirit of their collective effort. But they did it the same way they do every month.
"The elements of hope and faith are here," said Deacon Lionel Roberts, 78, Blessed Trinity's outreach coordinator since 2002. "Not only by prayer alone, which is very important, but we hope that our works can help others in need, whatever that need is."
The food is intended for everyone in the community: from Eckerd College students and families looking to stretch their monthly food dollars, to low- and fixed-income individuals and families hoping for excellent quality groceries.
For $15 and two hours of community service, anyone can purchase a food package worth $30. And they can buy as many packages as they want.
On the second Sunday of the month, customers can qualify for the program by registering with volunteers after Mass. The $15 can be paid using cash or food stamps while the community service can be devoted to any activity of the customer's choice.
Customers can help out at the church, drive a friend to the hospital, visit with a senior citizen, or even mow a neighbor's lawn. The options are endless.
According to Roberts, while November and December remain the busiest times of the year because of the holiday season, Share feeds on average 50 families during the summer months.
"The knowledge of misery is better than the surprise of misery," said Bob Brown, 62, who spoke with a politician's eloquence while a pair of sunglasses dangled from his shirt. Brown explained that once individuals understand the problems in their neighborhood, only then can they hope to create a difference in their community.
Brown—a helper since 2002— is one of the faithful 40 to 50 volunteers who come out regularly to help Blessed Trinity's effort with that same hope in mind.
Two weeks after participants registered and placed their food orders with the church, volunteer drivers got out of bed last Saturday morning, reached for their car keys and arrived at Blessed Trinity by 4 a.m.
They agreed to shuttle packages between the 1600 54th Ave., South church and the Share warehouse in Ybor City, picking up orders of pork chops, skinless chicken thighs, meatloaf patties and fresh produce, and then dropped them off at Blessed Trinity's cafeteria hall.
The rest of the volunteers arrived at the church around 7 a.m. Turning up in shorts, sandals and T-shirts, they wiped the sleep from their eyes, greeted each other the way old friends often do—with an easy smile, a quick hug, a nod of mutual understanding—and they began another D-Day together.
"It's more of a fellowship than work," said Karen Kasper, 42, a tornado in sandals, gracefully whirling through the cafeteria, greeting all the volunteers while putting everything in its rightful place before the customers arrive at 9 a.m. She's the distribution manager.
She makes sure the volunteers set up the tables, organize the food into bags, and check off customers and their groceries. "Some people come to church for what they think they need to get," Kasper said. "I find that if you come with the mindset to give, you get fellowship and a sense of purpose."
Once all the customers received their groceries and another D-Day was completed at 10:50 a.m., Roberts led the volunteers in prayer. Oftentimes they pray for a blessing and the strength to continue.
"The biggest obstacle we face is getting more people to know about the program," said Roberts, who spoke peacefully in a warm Trinidad accent.
"We're looking to help provide people with means to help themselves and help the community with the low cost of high quality food," said Tim Caske, 46, who stepped in as director of Share Florida back in January. "Our mission is to get people involved with their community."
According to Caske, the nationwide program is operated through various host sites—"non profit civic associations looking to better its communities"—and there are 22 total locations in St. Petersburg where people can register and pick up groceries.
"We ask [our host sites] to put together a team of 6 to 10 to help run the site, to deliver a minimum of 25 packages a month, 25 families a month," Caske said. "We encourage them to get the word out and help as many as possible."
Through volume buying and volunteer power, Share is able to buy high quality food at discounted rates. The more people involved in the program, the greater their purchasing power and ability to help everyone save money.
Both Roberts and Caske touched on a concern among several volunteers. The urgency to get the word out, to get new customers and volunteers on a regular basis. The fear of burn out.
Kasper explained that before Blessed Trinity opened its door to Share, the program operated at Lakewood United Methodist Church on 5995 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St., South.
"The program there eventually closed down because everyone burned out," she said. "It was the same people volunteering, year after year and it got harder and harder."
"We had enough people early on but the numbers began dwindling over the years," said Carol Barker, an Administrative Assistant at Lakewood United, who volunteered for Share while it was still operating there.
"It was mainly the elderly volunteering but due to illness or age they moved away, moved back in with their families," Barker said. "With older people some of them passed away, and we didn't have the younger people to take their place. We had it for about 5 years."
Share Florida then asked Blessed Trinity to take over the program in 2002.
Caske agreed with Barker and said failure to draw new volunteers and burn out are typical problems that cause host sites to close down. On the other hand, he said, the ones that thrive succeed in promoting the program and reaching out to new volunteers.
The requirement for two hours of volunteerism is based on the honor system. "No one should be denied food because they didn't do something," Kasper said. "So volunteers [who do more than two hours] donate extra hours to families in need of food but cannot afford community service."
"We go on faith and believe that volunteers are helping their community and upholding their end of the bargain," Caske said. "We trust in the goodness of the program, because that's what we're trying to promote."
The Share program statewide currently depends on 70 to 75 percent volunteer labor to continue working, from food warehouses to host sites.
Although the volunteerism required by the program may be small, and can be used in any way, if Share fails to get new volunteers for its program—then failure in the long run is probable.
"[Our service] is a prayer for the community as much as it is an act to help our fellow man," Roberts said. "We hope they go on to help others."
And they hope to inspire that spirit in young people who can continue the program.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 27.4 percent of American teens volunteered in 2003, the highest percentage in United States history.
"Right now, we have enough individuals but we want more," Brown said, who also volunteers at a reading center along with Blessed Trinity. "We need to get the youth involved as much as we can."
Caske added that young people are very important to the program, because as volunteers grow older, there remains a need to revitalize the organization.
After Roberts finished leading the group in prayer, the volunteers sat down and had breakfast together. There was no special celebration for the two-year mark, because they knew they had more anniversaries ahead.
It was only 11 a.m.