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Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services News
From a Call to Action, Volunteering Provides Meaningful Opportunities to Help Community
*This is a special feature from the City of San Jose, Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services
"Volunteering at AACI is fantastic! This is a great community organization of people helping people," shared Erik Liang, volunteer at Asian American Community Involvement (AACI).
Liang, a AACI Volunteer, dedicates his time to better our community from serving our local senior residents’ food and other necessities to organizing vaccine events in Santa Clara County.
"I have learned so many new skills and a sense of community volunteering with AACI, I enjoy promoting all the services they have to offer,” said Liang.
AACI volunteers unloading delivery truck with hot and cold meals. Photo courtesy of AACI.
A San José native, Liang started volunteering with AACI in late March 2020 devoting two to four days each week delivering hot and frozen meals. Liang warms the hearts of the community he serves with his compassion and resilience.
With transportation a struggle for many needing food resources, AACI managed to put together a team of volunteers to deliver meals and perishables weekly. Utilizing a bi-weekly schedule, volunteer drivers are able to carefully and safely provide food to senior residents with meals for the week.
“Before the pandemic, we were serving 40 senior residents with meals, and now during the pandemic, we are serving 120 seniors a day. We have delivery routes from low-income residents to our local senior homes,” said Eunice Cheng, Senior Wellness Program Lead for AACI.
However, it takes the help of volunteers for AACI to serve the community, like Liang. AACI volunteers are kept safe, following all safety protocols and CDC guidance.
Liang shared, "I feel safe when going into AACI clinics and delivering meals, AACI is taking all the precautionary steps to keep their volunteers safe and protected."
AACI volunteers unloading trucks with groceries. Photo courtesy of AACI.
AACI is currently distributing food necessities, providing vaccines and offering senior wellness programs. Their vaccine events, encourage seniors to take control of their health, protect themselves, and reduce the risk of CoVid-19 infection, is based upon appointment availability. If you are 65+, you may qualify to get access to these resources, AACI is partnering with Santa Clara Health to provide vaccines on March 5 and 9th.
“What started as a simple call to action has turned into something so much more meaningful,” admits Liang.
AACI volunteer. Photo courtesy of AACI.
For more information about AACI senior wellness program please visit: aaci.org/wellness/senior
and partnered organizations, AACI is actively engaged the need for food distribution to be set across Santa Clara County to ensure food delivery and distribution efficiency.
AACI food resources: Moorpark Senior Nutrition Program: Tuesday-Friday 11:30-12pm (No dine in service, limited in-home deliver and curbside to-go only)
Moorpark Service Location: 2400 Moorpark Ave. Suite 111, San Jose, CA 95128
If you would like to become an #ESSENTIALVOLUNTEER, sign up for a volunteer opportunity (below) or submit an application to volunteer at SV Strong: siliconvalleystrong.org/volunteer
| Organization | Days & Times | Registration Link |
|---|---|---|
| Sacred Heart Community Services |
Sort food Monday-Thursday and Saturday for 2-3 hours
Monday-Thursday Shifts: 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. 11:30 - 2:30 a.m. 2:30 - 4:30 a.m.
Saturday Shift: 9 a.m. - noon |
Sign up at sacredheartcs.org/volunteer |
| The Health Trust | Sort food on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. |
Sign Up: Contact Mayra Catalán at volunteers@healthtrust.org |
| Gilroy Compassion Center | Help serve lunch, support unhoused community outreach, and do data entry. 2-3 hour shifts vary throughout the week. | Sign Up: thecompassioncenter.org/volunteer |
| Sourcewise | Build emergency first aid kits and/or become a Sourcewise Ambassador and bring companionship to a homebound senior. Minimum 1 hour a week commitment for 2 months. |
Sign Up: www.mysourcewise.com/commitment |
| Veggielution | Help pack farm boxes with fresh produce. Workdays are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at San Jose Conservation Corps & Charter School. Shifts are 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. or 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (optional shorter shift). | Sign Up: veggielution.org/our-farm |
| Martha's Kitchen | Prep and serve food Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. |
Sign Up: www.marthas-kitchen.org/ Or email to sign up: volunteers@marthas-kitchen.org |
| The Salvation Army, Silicon Valley |
Loading cars for food box distribution OR 2) checking in individuals and families arriving for food pick-up. |
Sign Up: volunteer.usawest.org/OpportunityListPage |
| Second Harvest of Silicon Valley | Help with various food distributions like sorting foods in the warehouse or delivering foods to homes. | Sign Up: www.shfb.org/give-help/volunteer |
| FIRST 5 Santa Clara County |
Make childcare diaper kits OR 2) distribute calming kits and diapers to families and early childcare providers at the Family Resource Centers; 2-3 hour shifts Monday-Saturday between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. |
Sign Up: Email Nishma Samat at nishma.samat@first5kids.org |
Each nonprofit organization will be able to provide information about their COVID-19 compliance policies and procedures. #SiliconValleyStrong
For more information on how you can access and find food resources in your neighborhood, visit bit.ly/SCCFoodMap. #SiliconValleyStrong #SVEats #KeepSVHealthy