Barbara Gerber – Volunteer of the Year!

Food For Thought has been blessed by many folks who exemplify the spirit of selfless giving and it’s the perfect place to be an enthusiastic, active volunteer. Without our volunteers, we could not open our doors. Last year   people contributed over 17,000 hours of service. Everyone in our community is affected by the HIV epidemic, regardless of their personal HIV status. Volunteers are friends, neighbors and even strangers who provide support to those who live with HIV/AIDS and come to realize that volunteering can transform lives in extraordinary ways through shared compassion.

The job of choosing just one volunteer from the hundreds who roll up their sleeves to carry out the work of feeding people living with HIV/AIDS  was a daunting task,  but we believe Barbara Gerber exemplifies this spirit of caring and concern and it is with great delight that we announce that she is our Volunteer of the Year for 2009.

Our Executive Director, Ron Karp, calls Barbara “a silent warrior.”  Her calm, professional manner is an asset to all she does at the food bank. As Secretary of our Board of Directors, she has painstakingly researched 10 years of board minutes to create a much-needed policy manual.  Though her personal interests are far reaching, she finds time to volunteer twice a week on both sides of the food bank – as a Tuesday afternoon clerk and a Thursday afternoon receptionist and girl Friday. She put in countless hours attending to the many details of Calabash and was invaluable to the success of the event.

Barbara retired in 2004 from a management position at the University of California’s Office of the President after 37 years and moved to Sonoma County — a move she and husband, Gary, had planned for years.  Once settled she looked for something meaningful to do to “earn my keep in the world.”  She found the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC) in Occidental and started volunteering in the office and in the garden.  She found FFT when OAEC asked her to staff their information table at Calabash.  “It was love at first sight!” says Barb. “I loved the garden, the staff, the people who attended, the tent, the food and decorations, the gourds, just everything.  The staff worked as a well oiled machine to stage this event which was filled with love and I wanted to be part of all of this.”  She attended a volunteer orientation and Stewart assigned her to clerk on Tuesday afternoons. It was a perfect fit. As a member of the planning committee, she helped stage last year’s Calabash. Barbara said she loved every minute of working with the “fantastic staff who accepted me as one of their own. Seeing the event unfold as we worked together was one of the best experiences and feelings I can remember, and I’m looking forward to doing it again! “