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Volunteer to package with Kids Against Hunger of Central Minnesota (KAH-CM)! Our packaging sessions are a unique way to get involved in the fight against world hunger right here in Central Minnesota. Each session offers a wide range of information about poverty and hunger, an opportunity to package food to feed hundreds of thousands all over the world, the possibility of tasting the food we package, and not to mention a great sense of accomplishment upon completion! Many of our new volunteers become regulars after just one session. Inside look into our packaging sessions In a two-hour packaging session, each participating volunteer will work with other community members in our warehouse to help package our specialized formula. The food packaged at each event will then be boxed and later shipped for distribution by trusted organizations located in or near impoverished areas around the world. In addition to our international shipments we also distribute a significant amount of our food to local food shelves. Each two-hour session begins with an introduction to our organization followed by an instruction to package our food. Volunteers will then begin packaging for a short while before settling down to watch a video about Kids Against Hunger and poverty. After grasping the larger picture of what it is we do, the volunteers are asked to continue packaging and encouraged to discuss ways to fight hunger and poverty right here, right now in our own community. Finally volunteers will be asked to share their ideas with the rest of the group in a discussion-based atmosphere. Before leaving, the total amount of meals packaged in the session will be revealed, and what a surprise this can be! To schedule an event For each month KAH-CM will designate 4-6 two-hour packaging sessions for 50-60 volunteers three months out. (eg: our May schedule will be posted at the end of February). Please see scroll down to Packaging Schedule to view our most current dates and check for availability. Due to these tough economic times, KAH-CM is only capable of hosting 4-6 two-hour packaging events each month. Generally to schedule a group of 10 or more you will need to contact us at least two months in advance as our groups fill up fairly quickly. However, we do have a waiting list for all ‘Full’ events in case of a cancellation. We are able to modify our sessions to accommodate special requests (eg. school field trips, church groups, special projects, etc.) for a packaging session. However, in order to get the full experience we ask that the time commitment be at least one and a half hours. This is for the benefit of every volunteer participating as well as our staff, which we ask to adjust their schedules to meet special requests. Generally these requests are made ‘Private’ and require a reservation one month in advance. If you would like to reserve volunteer spots on our current schedule or to schedule a private session, please email kidsagainsthunger@yahoo.com. Please include in your email the organization you are representing (if any), the date and time you would like to volunteer along with the number of volunteer spots requested, and a contact name, phone number and email address. An email with complete information will have priority over an incomplete inquiry and will help us make your reservation faster. If you have requested a date that is ‘Full’ we do have a 48-hour cancellation policy (see below) for all confirmed reservations and have a waiting list and would be happy to put you on it if you prefer. Occasionally we have groups cancel for a number of reasons, so depending on your group and situation, it could be a good alternative option. Once we
have confirmed your reservation, please check the contact email you provided
at least one week in advance of your packaging date for a final confirmation.
Should you make any changes to this reservation, please let us know at
least 48 hours in advance. |
Packaging Schedule Below is our most current packaging schedule as of 05/2009. Oftentimes the schedule fills up faster than we can update the website, so please email or call us to check availability BEFORE making prior arrangements to attend (please refer above to view the information required in order to process your reservation as well as information about our waiting list). As the dates fill up we will indicate how many volunteer spots are left until the session is ‘Full.’ This indicates that the packaging session has reached its capacity of 50-60 volunteers. However, on occasion we are able to accommodate groups of 5 or less on these dates depending on the session’s group size and number of group facilitators we have reserved. If interested in this option, please email scheduling@kidsagainsthungercm.org to check if this opportunity is available. We also have a waiting list for those who would like to be considered if there are any cancellations. If there
is “Private” listed next to the date and time this indicates
that the group made prior arrangements to schedule their own packaging
session and is closed to additional volunteers outside of their group.
To find out how to schedule such an event, please refer above. |
May
| 6.00p - 8.00p | Monday, May 4th | Full | ||
| 6.00p - 8.00p | Wednesday, May 6th | Full | ||
| 6.00p - 8.00p | Monday, May 11th | Full | ||
| 10.30a - 12.30p | Saturday, May 30th | Full |
|
Summer Scheduling
July 15th through August will be closed for packaging. We will schedule events if you are able to provide 25 volunteers or more (max. of 60). If you are not able to meet this number, please contact us anyway as there may be groups looking to connect with others for an event. |
Directions to our warehouse We are located at: 1000 South
Benton Drive Suite 422
KAH-CM policies regarding packaging events
Packaging policies The food
used to package at our warehouse is NOT donated. KAH-CM orders the food
directly from various food distributors and as many of you know, the cost
of rice and soybean has increased dramatically over the past 6 months.
Due to these items being the two main ingredients in the Kids Against
Hunger food, we ask that every volunteer who wishes to package at Kids
Against Hunger make a financial donation.
On occasion packaging sessions may need to be cancelled due to unusual circumstances (eg: weather, staffing, etc.). KAH-CM promises to do its best to inform the reserved volunteers of the cancellation 24 hours in advance, however, at times we may not be able to provide this. Please contact the Executive Director if you have any questions regarding this matter. 48-hour Volunteer Cancellation Policy Making sure our volunteers have a great experience at our packaging sessions while developing awareness of the issues surrounding hunger and poverty is one of our main priorities. Without our volunteers, our organization would not have been able to provide the nearly 3.5 million meals since 2003 to families in need all over the world. Being that our packaging sessions are in high-demand, we ask that a 48-hour notice be made for ANY cancellation of volunteers. This includes a reduction in the volunteer numbers as well as a complete cancellation of the group. We have a waiting list for every session so please be considerate of the people that would like to volunteer in your place. In our mission to give back to our volunteers through a positive experience, we ask that every volunteer follow this policy to ensure our efficiency in all of our operations including scheduling, packaging, and distributing. Complying with these procedures will enhance our ability to better serve our community volunteers (YOU!) and those we feed. Contact Information For all inquiries including scheduling, please contact: Daneen Bergquist |