This week, we hosted Volunteer Appreciation Week to honor some of the Capital Area Food Bank’s most inspirational and devoted workers: our volunteers. To say thanks, we treated volunteers to breakfast, lunch, and some fabulous CAFB gear—a small token of gratitude for the time, energy, and experience they give to support our mission and work.
Today, we are proud to announce this year’s top volunteers during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014. Join us in congratulating our community’s most active and inspirational individuals, corporate, student, and volunteer groups who have made a difference through their volunteer work:
Top Individual Volunteers
By Staff Recommendation
- Remi Akande, Intake Creator
- David Laughlin, Chief Garden Volunteer
- Sharon McCarthy, CAFB’s 1st Neighborhood Captain
- George Moore, Food Resources Filing Volunteer
- Sabrina Poms, Translation Volunteer
- Kate Sherwood, Master Chef Volunteer
- Narasimhan Swaminathan, Super DC Warehouse Volunteer
- Derrick Mickey, Northern Virginia Receptionist
Top Corporate Volunteers
By Volunteer Hours
- Capital One | 388 hours
- Marriott | 368 hours
- Deloitte | 265 hours
- AARP | 287 hours
- Safelite Auto Glass | 276 hours
- Price Waterhouse Coopers | 273 hours
- Iron Mountain | 226 hours
- TERATHINK | 216 hours
- XLA | 184 hours
- Fannie Mae | 174 hours
Top Student Volunteer Groups
By Volunteer Hours
- YouthWorks | 401 hours
- The Center for Student Missions | 380 hours
- Sharpe Health School | 315 hours
- St. Andrew’s Episcopal School |261 hours
- Holy Trinity School | 225 hours
- GW Community Building Community | 210 hours
- Marvelwood School | 187 hours
- Broad Run High School DECA | 162 hours
- Maple Springs Baptist Church Youth Ministry | 150 hours
- Georgetown University Law Center | 150 hours
Volunteers are the backbone of the CAFB. More than 21,000 volunteers support the CAFB’s efforts annually, resulting in a savings of over $2.6 million in staffing costs, which allows us to provide more food and resources to the community.
As it turns out, the benefits for volunteers themselves are not intangible. Over the past two decades a body of research shows that volunteering provides individual health benefits in addition to social ones. A recent study by UnitedHealth Group and the Optum Institute revealed volunteers feel better physically, mentally and emotionally; are more engaged and involved in managing their health and have lower health care costs and higher productivity at work.
If you want to make a positive difference in your community and in your health, sign up to volunteer at the Capital Area Food Bank. For a list of current opportunities, click here.