Since the start of the fall semester, Averett University students from the Averett Bonner Leader Program have continuously given back to the community, including dozens of hours at God’s Storehouse – despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

April Love-Loveless, director of the Bonner leader program at the Center for Community Engagement and Career Competitiveness at Averett, said the student’s resiliency at a time when there are so many uncertainties is amazing.

“Students like Shorok Hemdan couldn’t volunteer in the schools as she could in the past. She, among others, have made a big impact when there is a lot of confusion,” Love-Loveless said.

Hemdan, a junior majoring in elementary education and a Bonner leader, said she was inspired to volunteer at God’s Storehouse because she wanted to gain experience in different areas of work and to learn if she chose the correct career path.

“It seemed like a very fulfilling way to spend my time,” she said.

While at God’s Storehouse, Hemdan said she is usually sorting food, building boxes in the warehouse, working the One Stop Shop that supplies clients with different products, or assisting at the client intake desks. Her work doesn’t stop there, however.

“I try to find ways to recognize the volunteers for all of their hard work. For example, I gave six of the volunteers questionnaires to answer about themselves, and then I am planning to put that information on Facebook for the purpose of both recognizing those volunteers and inspiring others to follow in their paths,” Hemdan said. She is also working on volunteer recruitment.

God’s Storehouse has distributed over 20,000 boxes of food since January 1. They serve an average of 119 households per day. In all, God’s Storehouse has distributed over 700,000 pounds of food so far in 2020.

“I think volunteering to feed the hungry is a wonderful way for someone to spend their time because they’d be helping people meet their basic needs to live, and it’s also a great way to learn how to not take anything for granted because food insecurity, especially, can be so damaging physically, mentally and emotionally.”

Two other Bonner leaders, juniors Allison Kelley and Austin Paynter, are also volunteering at God’s Storehouse.

Double-majoring in sports medicine and coaching, Paynter volunteers to work in the God’s Storehouse urban garden. He said it warms his heart to see so many people coming to learn what they need to do to start a garden.

“Groups of people will come in on the weekends to learn more about how to garden and what to do. We will have people realize that hey, this is something I can do myself and not have to spend money at the store on the vegetables I grow,” Paynter said. “You learn life skills by volunteering, and in turn get to teach those skills to others in need.”

Kelley, a nursing major who is also a cheerleader and vice president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, ordinarily would be filling backpacks with food for the Malcolm Huckabee Backpacks Program at God’s Storehouse during a non-pandemic year.

The backpack program is set up to provide over 300 children who attend Schoolfield and Woodberry Hills Elementary Schools food bags with necessities including two breakfast items, two other meals, snack items, milk and juice. Food allergies are also accounted for.

“Because of COVID, it has impacted distribution. I continue to volunteer and help with other distribution needs,” Kelley said.

On November 19, Kelley took on another role and stepped in to help sort food recently received from donations.

“I continue to help where I can because there are still people in need,” Kelley said.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, Hemdan said it is so important to give back to those who need it.

“This experience has affected me both in that it made me realize how privileged I am… and that it made me realize the importance of being aware of what other people are going through and not being apathetic about it,” Hemdan said.

“The volunteers are such a joy to work with and this role has been so rewarding in so many ways. I would definitely volunteer at God’s Storehouse again, especially when I’m retired.”